LIfe+After+the+War

= = Life After the War By: Alyssa Alvey, Chelsea Melton, Emily Watkins, and Morgan Price. Table of Contents Chapter 1 - Famous people after the war Chapter 2- The reaction of families and soldiers Chapter 3- See also Chapter 4- Websites

We all know what happens to people while they’re at war, or even before they go to war. But what happens after the war, when everybody comes home and everybody starts to settle back into their day to day lives that they used to have before they went into the war. When soldiers come home from war they almost always suffer from an array of psychological issues.

Lt. William Calley: It seems that there is little to Lt. William Calley’s pre-Vietnam life to suggest that he was a “monster” as many had suspected. Calley’s military began with basic training, after which he was transferred to Fort Lewis, Washington where he trained as a clerk-typist. Soon after he successfully applied to Officer Candidacy School and began six months of junior training in the middle of March, 1967. His training was accelerated when summer came when the battalion was to be deployed earlier than had to be suspected. Upon arrival in Vietnam, Calley’s Charlie Company didn’t encounter as much action.

My Lai Massacre In Vietnam On March 16, 1968, the men of Charlie Company entered the Vietnamese village of My Lai. Their officers told them, “This is what you have been waiting for --- search and destroy --- and you’ve got it.” My Lai was in the South Vietnamese district of My Son, and it was an area that was heavily mined. Many members of the Charlie Company were killed in this area. The troops, under the command of Lt. William Calley, entered the village. As the “search and destroy” method came into action, 300 civilians were killed including women, children, and the elderly. According to an eyewitness, old men were bayoneted, praying women and children were shot in the back of the head, and one girl was raped and then killed. Calley rounded up a group of villagers and had them lay in a ditch, and moved them down in a line of gun fire. Word of the atrocities did not reach the American public until November 1969.

Lt. William Calley

An apology for what he did… Calley long refused interviews from reporters about the My Lai Massacre. But was invited by his friend to speak. He spoke at a Columbus Kiwanis meeting. And answered question about what had happened. Apparently Calley was the one convicted of the killlings in My Lai. He was sentenced to life in prison then reduced to ten years and later down to house arrest for three and a half years. He didn’t deny what had happened that day. But he did repeatedly make the point-which he has said before from Captian Earnest Medina-he was following orders. He was ordered to take out My Lai and adding thaat he had the intelligence that the village was fortified and would be “hot” when he went in. He also said that the area was submitted to an artililery barrage and helicopter fire before his troops went in. but it turned out that it was not hot and no armed resistence. But he had been told, he said, that if he left anyone behind, that his troops would caught in a crossfire. He was the only one convicted of the killings in the My Lai Massacre. The reaction of Families and Soldiers Our soldiers at war have a hard time getting threw some things that happen day to day. But what keeps them motivated? Their families each soldier has some kind of family. Each soldier has a different thought about the war and what goes on. But each soldier fights for the freedom of their family, friends, and even strangers. Not many people think that a soldier going to war has to do with anyone but them, but that isn’t entirely true. The family is also affected by the soldier’s opinion. Below are some families with stories of how they are affected in their sons, husbands, or friend’s choice to serve for us. Families of veterans feel just as much stress or just as much sadness as the soldiers. The following are things that families and soldiers both feel. Some families experience nightmares or difficulty sleeping, unwanted thoughts, anxiety and panic, irritability and anger, emotional numbing or loss interest in activities or people, problems with alcohol or drug use to cope with stress reactions. Most common with families include stress reactions that may interfere with a service member’s ability to trust and be emotionally close to others. Which may make the family feel emotionally cut off from the service member. When a service member returns it may be hard to get along with him/her because most might feel irritable and may have difficulty communicating to others. Also a returning service member may experience loss of interest in family social activities. A service member may also feel distant from a spouse because of lack of interest.

William L. Taylor William Taylor died last year of his injuries in the Vietnam War. When a grenade was thrown, it went off and his legs were severely burned. When he was wounded, it took more than a week for his family to find out. He only wanted them to be notified if he died. It was bad. Many American soldiers died, and one lost and eye. He suffered from burns on both legs, had shrapnel embedded all over his body and had a bleeding head wound. He required multiple skin grafts and months of rehabilitation. Doctors never got all of the shrapnel out. Only decades later, did he learn that the war never ended for him. He began to lose his memory. A brain scan discovered that shrapnel was under his skull. A diagnosis confirmed that the shrapnel had caused dementia. He was put into a VA hospital, then a nursing home. He never did return home. When he died, his name was added to the Wall. “The war lasted a long time for us,” said his wife, Elaine Taylor.

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