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January 23, 2005
Combat intensity in WWII and Viet Nam
On Mail Call they're talking about helicopters:To give you a comparison, an infantryman in World War II, with four years involvement, maybe had 40 days of actual combat. In Viet Nam, an infantryman with a one year tour experienced 240 days of combat, which really says that the helicopter took the fighting man to where he was needed.
The general impression one gets from the mass media is that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a lot worse for Viet Nam veterans than for WWII veterans, I don't know if that's actually true, but if it is, this might be one reason. An employee in an average company works maybe 240 days a year, and most people's jobs don't involve being shot at.
Posted by ekr at January 23, 2005 12:45 PM | Filed under: