Modern War Heroes

For many years, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) was just shoved under the rug and ignored. Men suffering from the disorder were just told to “man up”. But when soldiers return home from war, they often will be suffering from any number of mental issues. This soldier, Johnson Beharry, speaks up for these people, and calls for help for them and their families.

The army’s most decorated serving war hero today claimed the government was failing to care for soldiers with mental trauma caused by combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for saving the lives of comrades during two ambushes in Iraq, said it was “disgraceful” that some veterans were not getting the treatment they needed.

He told the Independent that the government had not done enough to help soldiers suffering from severe combat stress, depression and mental breakdowns.

Beharry said military charities were being used to patch up holes in soldiers’ care.

“These are people who have served this country. Why can’t they get treatment? I don’t think the government is doing enough for soldiers,” he said.

Read the rest of the article.

Every war has its heroes. This post is dedicated to Noel Godfrey Chavasse who served in World War I.  He began his career by studying medicine, and ended up joining the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1913. Neither illness nor injury kept him from his duty of helping his fellow soldiers. He received multiple honors, including the Victoria Cross and the Military Cross.

I am always impressed and humbled by these healers who are called to the battlefront. They could easily perform their duties far away from the front, but somehow they find the courage to run out into the fray to rescue the poor souls laying injured in the mud. And thank goodness they do! So many have been saved by these brave efforts who otherwise would have lost their lives.

Please click on Noel Chavasse’s name to learn more about him.