US Army tweet prompts painful responses from war veterans
A message on Twitter from the US Army asking war veterans to share stories of how their combat experiences affected them prompted a large number of painful replies, including many personal accounts of living with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The US Army issued the tweet during Memorial Day, a federal holiday in the US which honors the military personnel who perished while serving in the US armed forces.
Among the thousands of responses included harrowing tales of depression, sexual assault and PTSD.
Others posted stories of illness and suicide brought on by experiences ranging from seeing loss of life to sexual assaults in the military.
One veteran responded, "How did serving impact me? Ask my family." He wrote of a "Combat Cocktail" which included "PTSD, severe depression, anxiety. Isolation. Suicide attempts. Never ending rage."
The “Combat Cocktail”: PTSD, severe depression, anxiety. Isolation. Suicide attempts. Never ending rage. It cost me my relationship with my eldest son and my grandson. It cost some of my men so much more.
— Sean P. (@SeanP_75) May 26, 2019
How did serving impact me? Ask my family.
Responses to the US Army's Twitter post now number more than 11,000.
In addition to PTSD, another common theme on Twitter was reports of sexual assault while serving in the military.
Sexual harassment every day. Experiencing sexual assault. Protecting others from sexual assault. Sleeping w/ a knife @ night & holding my body against a door as a drunk male banged on our barracks door. A fear that never leaves me. That is how serving has impacted me.
— Hannah Funderburk (@HannahFunderbu3) May 26, 2019
Another female veteran wrote about sexual assault along with suffering from depression and anxiety.
Depression, anxiety, still can’t deal well with loud noises. I was assaulted by one of my superiors. When I reported him, with witnesses to corroborate my story, nothing happened to him. Nothing. A year later, he stole a laptop and was then demoted. I’m worth less than a laptop.
— schmox (@IvoryGazelle) May 25, 2019
One male wrote that "my wife and I served in the @USArmy. We spent over 5 years geographically separated from each other."
My wife and I served in the @USArmy. We spent over 5 years geographically separated from each other. She was sexually assaulted on deployment and kicked out of the army for seeking treatment bc she was then deemed unfit for service. I got out bc her assaulters went unpunished.
— C & B (@johnsoncale1) May 27, 2019
Others wrote of family members, relatives and friends who had ended their lives during or after their service in the military.
On the same day, the US Army also posted a tweet with a link and phone number for the Veterans Crisis Line.
There are nearly 20 million veterans in the US and 20 die by suicide every day, 1.5 times the rate of civilians, according to the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
A VA report last year found that over 6,000 veterans have died by suicide each year from 2008 to 2016.
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