Returning Home From War

The horrific scenes of war are kept out of the average citizen's view unless through stories, movies or video games. While these provide insight into what war is like, the only ones who know are soldiers themselves. After reading "A Man Outside", which describes the struggle of a man who has returned from war, I couldn't help but think about the stories and media I know that involve soldiers coming home. There is a ton of discussion on this issue and also on the topic providing for veterans in the United Sates. Basically everyone knows at least one movie about a soldier coming home and struggling to find his place again. What makes it so difficult to come back home?

Some soldiers come home physically injured while some only come home with emotional scars, which can be just as bad if not worse. Some come home with horrific injuries that takes away their sense of humanity. "Johnny Got His Gun" is a novel that was based on a true story about a soldier in WW1 that was written in 1938 by Dalton Trumbo and eventually turned into a movie in 1971. The main character, Joe Bonham, loses his arms, legs, and most of his face due to an artillery shell explosion. He awakens in a hospital bed with having the ability to think, but can barely move and can't speak. He will live the rest of his life in this state of living death. He tries to use morse code by moving his head but ultimately nothing happens. He wants to die but cannot even kill himself so he is trapped inside of his own body. This is an extreme case of a soldier coming home with gruesome injuries, but still a reality. This book/film received a jump in popularity after Metallica was inspired by the story, so they wrote the song, "One". They used clips from the 1971 film in their music video for this song that was off of their "...And Justice For All" album in 1988 (See below). I would advise reading the lyrics before watching the video to get a better understanding and it may be difficult to understand James Hetfield (lead singer). 

https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/metallica/one.html  (Lyrics)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM8bTdBs-cw (Music Video)

I think the most impactful lines from the song are the following:

"Fed through the tube that sticks in me

Just like a wartime novelty

Tied to machines that make me be

Cut this life off from me"

I think these lyrics can resonate even with soldiers who haven't experienced an injury like the one in "Johnny Got His Gun". Some come home and feel so disconnected that they do not want to keep living, such as Beckmann in "The Man Outside". They are thanked for their service and are thought of as heroes, but inside they do not feel that way. They come home to their families and do not feel apart of it. Some don't feel like themselves and they don't feel like they belong. They can be looked at as a "wartime novelty" because they are a living collectible from the war. One could say that they were being controlled like toy soldiers on the battlefield and the ones who come home are valuable because they survived the carnage. 

The best way to understand what soldiers go through when they come home is to listen to one describe it themselves. Jonathan Kirk Davis is a Sergeant in the US Marines and served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. In the following article, he gives his perspective on what it is like serving overseas and what it's like to come home. During the seven months the marines are deployed, they are with each other every day and do not have the choice of going home every night.
The constant insecurity and possible threat from being shot or bombs going off create a battle in a soldiers head between what is safe and what is not. Once they come home, Davis describes it like meeting your friends and family for the first time again. He and his family have grown independently, making it difficult to connect the way they used to. The environment overseas creates a soldier that is on edge, angry, and suspicious. The psychological war that happens after the battlefield is one that cannot be simplified, but Sergeant Davis gives us the best explanation he can.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2012/06/15/how-do-military-veterans-feel-when-they-return-home-from-combat/#49d0c7e33e1e

Through both of these stories, one can see the struggles that exist mentally in a soldiers head after returning home from combat. Mental health plays a very important role for soldiers who are trying to assimilate back into their normal lives at home. Access to mental health professionals is a big problem facing veterans in the United States and needs to be addressed if we want our soldiers to be able to live the lives they once did. Many politicians and people in power address that our veterans are not receiving the care they need, however, many veterans still struggle to find adequate care. Mental health research and care is as good as it ever has been and some of the people who need it most are the ones coming back from war.

By: Mason Perlman

Sources:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2012/06/15/how-do-military-veterans-feel-when-they-return-home-from-combat/#49d0c7e33e1e
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/metallica/one.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Got_His_Gun