Soldier from the war returning

by Childers, Thomas

One of our great national myths surrounds the men and women who fought in World War II. The Greatest Generation, we're told, fought heroically, then returned to America happy, healthy and well-adjusted. They quickly and cheerfully went on with rebuilding their lives. Here, historian Thomas Childers shatters that myth. He interweaves the intimate story of three families--including his own--with a decade's worth of research to paint an entirely new picture of the war's aftermath. Drawing on government documents, interviews, oral histories and diaries, he reveals that 10,000 veterans a month were being diagnosed with psycho-neurotic disorder (now known as PTSD). Alcoholism, homelessness, and unemployment were rampant, leading to a skyrocketing divorce rate. Many veterans bounced back, but their struggle has been lost in a wave of nostalgia that threatens to undermine a new generation of returning soldiers. This book is a stark reminder that the price of war is unimaginably high.--From pub