War Trauma: Lessons Unlearned, From Vietnam to Iraq

Raymond Monsour Scurfield
Algora Publishing (2006)
ISBN 0875864856
Reviewed by Tyler R. Tichelaar for Reader Views (5/07)

“War Trauma” by Raymond Scurfield is the third volume of “A Vietnam Trilogy.” The first two volumes were “Veterans and Post-Traumatic Stress, 1968, 1989 & 2000” and “Healing Journeys: Study Abroad with Vietnam Veterans.” It is not necessary to read the first two volumes to understand the third volume, although reading the first two volumes may enhance the reader’s understanding of the third.

Dr. Scurfield is an Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Southern Mississippi-Gulf Coast. His qualifications for writing about the Vietnam War include being a Vietnam Veteran, working twenty-five years for the Department of Veteran Affairs, directing PTSD mental health programs throughout the US, and numerous publications, presentations, and years of research on Vietnam and post-traumatic stress. He has also written on the post-traumatic stress that resulted from September 11th and Hurricane Katrina.

“War Trauma” itself is an eye-opening study of the effects of war on veterans. Dr. Scurfield uses examples from all the wars the United States has been involved in since World War II, but he primarily focuses on Vietnam and how the situation in Iraq is similar to Vietnam for U.S. Soldiers. Despite my own large ignorance of the Vietnam War, I found “War Trauma” to be compelling reading. Much of what Dr. Scurfield discusses is relevant to anyone who has experienced traumatic situations. Dr. Scurfield discusses this relevance toward the book’s end when he talks about how the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina are similar to those experienced in a war zone.

One of the most effective chapters of “War Trauma” discussed how people can learn to understand a family member who has returned home from the war. One striking story was of a wife who has continually dug fifteen pieces of shrapnel out of her husband’s skin. Dr. Scurfield gives excellent examples of how to be supportive and listen without prying and what behaviors to expect from a veteran suffering from PTSD. Another vital chapter in the book focused on healing the guilt and blame veterans feel when they return home after their comrades have died in battle. Guilt also exists over killing an enemy who is really human but whom the army had to dehumanize to perform its job, and guilt exists over killing innocent civilians out of fear they may actually be the enemy. Dr. Scurfield’s “percentages of responsibility” procedure for helping a veteran stop blaming himself or helping him deal with pain was especially effective; the procedure allows the veteran to quit blaming himself or another solely and to realize to what percentage he was really responsible and to what percentage the enemy, the government, and fellow soldiers were responsible; this realigning of guilt and blame consequently provides a great deal of healing for the veteran. This technique can equally be applied to anyone suffering from guilt and self-blame.

I have two criticisms of “War Trauma”. The first is that the book has many typos in it of extra, repeated words, and missing words. These errors created a problem because the sentences were long and complex and when the verb was missing, I would often have to go back to reread the sentence and struggle to figure out its meaning. I also strongly disagree with Dr. Scurfield’s statement that every citizen in a nation at war is responsible for the traumatic events of that war. I do not think the millions of U.S. citizens who have opposed the war in Iraq since the beginning, who did not elect the current administration, and who are not in the military can be blamed for actions they cannot control and have fought to prevent. In other places, Dr. Scurfield mentions the difficulties for people who protest a war, which in itself may be the more patriotic action, while at the same time being accused of being unpatriotic. I wish he would have qualified or expanded on his statement that everyone in a nation at war was responsible for traumatic events; I felt it was too severe and out of place.

Overall, I recommend “War Trauma: Lessons Unlearned, From Vietnam to Iraq” to anyone whose loved one is a war veteran, as well as to anyone interested in learning what war is truly like. Even people who have undergone traumatic non-war experiences such as rape, physical abuse, or being in a car accident would find the many discussions of how to overcome trauma to be useful. Dr. Scurfield is to be commended for his many efforts to provide healing to veterans and their families.

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