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Personality and Combat Effectiveness / Resumption of Civilian Life

Discussion in 'WWII General' started by superbee, Mar 8, 2012.

  1. superbee

    superbee Member

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    I have just finished watching (and re-watching) The Pacific on DVD, which has caused me to ponder the effects of combat on the psyches of the combatants. To me it seems apparent that this is a highly variable, highly individualistic thing. But I wonder if there are any patterns that have been observed.

    What type of personality (or traits, assets, cultural influences) enables a person to be an effective combatant on the battlefield while at the same time enabling that same person to assimilate back into civilian society with a minimum degree of difficulty?

    Have any studies been done on this? And if so, what conclusions (if any) can be drawn from these studies?

    As always, I thank you in advance for your responses.
     
    superbee, Mar 8, 2012
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  2. belasar

    belasar Court Jester

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    A valid and interesting question, one I cannot answer, only speculate on, so i'll let others better qualified to do so.
     
    belasar, Mar 8, 2012
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  3. rkline56

    rkline56 USS Oklahoma City CG5

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    I have seen documentaries on the History and Military Channels showing medical studies done as far back as WW I. The Doctors were able to observe and study the treatments / behaviors of hundreds, if not thousands, of shell shock victims from the various military branches Allied and Axis.

    Pretty disheartening film really. Poor guys were bonkers (hiding under beds, in corners FOR WEEKS). Time never slows down as greatly as when you are caught in an artillery barrage. You should be able to search you tube for film and then follow up with archival studies. They are out there and the military people around the world have incorporated the findings into their psyop programs, you can be sure of that. I'll have to dig out my box set on WWI (six discs) available at Best Buy etc. (the exact title eludes me at the moment) that has a pretty good chapter devoted to this topic.

    Good luck on your search. Please post the links here for the benefit of those who are interested.

    All of the civilian population needs to pay it back and forward to our brave Veterans. And not forget about it.
     
    rkline56, Mar 8, 2012
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  4. lwd

    lwd Ace

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    There have been quite a few studies on this and related topics recently. The US Army has a rather vested interest in them for a number of reasons. Not sure where to find the details though.
     
    lwd, Mar 8, 2012
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  5. Clementine

    Clementine Member

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    I don't know about studies, but the effect the war had on Eugene Sledge is fascinating to me.

    If you've ever seen any interviews with Sledge's friend, Sidney Phillips, which I assume you probably have because some of them were included on DVD set of The Pacific, he talks about what a hard time Sledge had when he came back, but he says that he (Phillips) didn't really have a hard time, that combat was hard but that when he came home he was able to just put it behind him and move on.

    I find this concept so fascinating - sad, yes, but fascinating how people react differently to things.

    Do keep us posted.

    My father, for all intents and purposes, was able to put it behind him and move on, but even now has dreams about the war. He says they are less clear now, not specific incidences, but vague dreams of people trying to kill him. Obviously, it's been almost 70 years and he still dreams about it.
     
    Clementine, Mar 8, 2012
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  6. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    I worked as a nurse's aide and then as a nurse in the eighties and had a lot of contact with WWII and Korean War veterans. My personal observation is that the ones who would talk about the war tended to appear more emotionally strong and seemed to do better in their life. Obviously not a scientific study, but just my observation.

    My friend, Old Hickory, apparently has always been willing to talk about the war. When he came home, he wanted to tell his family about it, but they would not talk to him, even to point of changing the subject if he brought it up. He finally had to ask them what was going on and they told him that they had received a letter from the Army asking them not to talk to their wartime experience. He told them "But I want to." They eventually talked to him about it some. One thing I didn't ask him about was how his brother who was badly wounded on Iwo Jima did after the war. Did he want to talk about his experience?

    He ended up spending a good bit of time the first weeks after the war with a good female friend who helped him readjust and then he met his wife. One of the reasons he fell for her was that on their first date a month or two after he got home, she would listen to him and seemed concerned about his "troubles." He said that he never really talked to her about the war a lot after that, but knowing the she understood helped him a great deal. He just wanted to get it all out and behind him.

    In our talks when preparing for the book, he generally freely spoke about the war but there were a couple of subjects that he was reticent when speaking about. I have my own suspicions, based on other things he said at other times, as to why he avoided those particular subjects. He had no problems talking about the mundane and funny things and about the bad things that happened to him, such as when he thought he was about to be killed. He tended, rightly so, not to want to talk much at all about the deaths of others, including the Germans, except for the SS which he hated after seeing Belgians that they had executed. I don't think he liked the idea that he was a party to the death of others, even if they were the enemy.
     
    Slipdigit, Mar 8, 2012
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  7. CAC

    CAC Ace of Spades

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    Google , better yet buy one of LtCol Dave Grossman's books...he's dedicated his professional life to these questions...What type of personality (or traits, assets, cultural influences) enables a person to be an effective combatant on the battlefield while at the same time enabling that same person to assimilate back into civilian society with a minimum degree of difficulty?
    A quick answer would be if you're human and not a pyschopath then, there is NO personality trait that will allow this...depends of the individuals experiences more than anything.
     
    CAC, Mar 8, 2012
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  8. superbee

    superbee Member

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    I began reading E. B. Sledge's book With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa shortly after I started this thread, and found that Mr. Sledge himself touched on the topic of this thread. After reflecting upon the Marine experience at Peleliu, he suggested that "...compassion for the suffering of others was a burden to those who have it.' when it came to dealing with the psychological horrors inflicted upon men by war.

    Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. This is a good start.
     
    superbee, Mar 11, 2012
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