The Unknown Trauma

Above is a representation of the many faces and feelings of the U.S. female soldiers during the Vietnam War, along with some articles from the New York Times regarding those strong women. The women who served in the U.S. Military during the Vietnam War were proud and often smiled through adversity. They were loyal, hardworking women who served their country by choice. They were also abused and discriminated against and they suffer for it to this day. The occurrence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is incredibly high with this group due to the unknown trauma they faced. During the time period of the Vietnam War, the common belief was the male soldiers were just being 'normal males'. The female soldiers didn't understand what was considered rape and more often than not they were the ones that felt guilty. The psychological effects of assault and harassment are great. The treatment of these heroes robbed them not only of their freedom of choice but also their pride, that they should be feeling, in serving our nation during war time.