2Z  POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

During my entire year in Vietnam, I saw only one example of PTSD. It occurred after the June 16, 1969, Sapper attack when one of my men, who was overseeing a .50 caliber machine gun, was blown off the roof of his bunker by an enemy satchel charge.

Corporal John Adams was one of our company clerks who got along with everyone on the mountain. I found him to be an exceptional soldier who always took his job seriously. He was meticulous in his career and rarely made a mistake.
The day after the battle, he showed up for work with the right side of his face bandaged. Major Campbell asked him what had happened, and he said all he could remember was that an explosion blew him out of his bunker, and when he woke up, the side of his face was bleeding, and he had a headache. I called Doc and asked him to stop over at the command bunker and check on Corporal Adams’ injuries. Doc checked him out and thought two days off was all he needed.

The next time I talked to Corporal Adams, I noticed a change in his personality. He wasn’t as talkative, and he seemed more serious than before the attack. His facial bruises were clearing up, and his headache was gone, but I could still sense that he hadn’t fully recovered from his injuries.

About a week later, our other clerk told me that Corporal Adams had been acting strangely and talking to himself. Everyone who collaborated with him noticed something had changed with his mannerisms, but nobody could tell what was occurring in his mind. As the weeks passed, he became more reclusive, and I started to worry about his mental health. Even Major Campbell was worried about him and sent him down to the Tay Ninh Base Camp to get his condition evaluated by a doctor.
After he returned to the mountain, everything returned to normal until the mountain had another enemy probing three weeks later. This latest enemy probing changed him, and everyone around him noticed how he was stressed out. He was changing into a different person, coming to work late, incorrectly filling out reports, and even missing meals. Two weeks later, he asked me if I could help him with a problem. I met him after work, and all he talked about was how he almost died during the last Sapper attack, and in his mind, he believed that when the next attack came, the Vietcong would kill everyone on the mountain. He had decided that his life would soon be over, and nobody could prevent it.

I met with Major Campbell, and we came up with a plan to help Corporal Adams by getting him more involved with the daily activities of our company. Sergeant Meyers suggested that we assign him as his aid so we could keep an eye on him along with getting his mind off dying. Our plan seemed to be working until somebody from another command decided to call in an artillery barrage on an enemy position further down the side of our mountain. The artillery barrage was all it took to push Corporal Adams over the edge. He was found in his bunker, refusing to go to his fighting position along the perimeter. His body had finally given up; he was lying on his bunk in the fetal position, staring at the wall and nonresponsive to questions. The following day we had no choice but to get Doc to go with him to the Cu Chi hospital for evaluation. That was the last time we saw him, and Doc heard later from his 1st Brigade counterpart that Corporal Adams was being sent back to the States for treatment.
Here was an outstanding soldier who went through a traumatic experience that eventually wound up short-circuiting a part of his brain. Every soldier has a mental breaking point. As much as the Army tries to drop the weak soldiers by putting them through a battery of physical and mental challenges, only combat is an actual test.
I think of John often, and I hope he has had a full recovery and has lived a good life.