Combat Trauma

Much has been written of the short-term experience of combat trauma. Almost nothing has been documented about how that trauma impacts individuals years after their first conflict experiences and into later life. Here, Johnson relates the stories of fifteen of his combat brothers to share with the world what their terror of four decades ago has done to them and how it affects them to this day. With candor and vivid detail, they reveal how their combat trauma symptoms still infect their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors on a daily basis. Those returning from battle now and their family and friends will find here a roadmap of what to expect from those suffering from PTSD as a result of combat. With this knowledge, today’s veterans and those who love and care for them can tackle the issues and challenges so that symptoms may be minimized and addressed. Those who still carry these wounds will find that they are not alone, and that there are ways of dealing with the horror, no matter how long ago it may have been. Johnson concludes the book with resources for obtaining help and mending the spirit in the face of what can be debilitating thoughts and fears.

Author Biography

James D. Johnson is a retired Army Chaplain (Lt. Col.) and was a counselor/therapist in Fayetteville, NC for over fifteen years. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff college and completed four units of specialized training in Clinical Pastoral Education. He spent a year in Vietnam as an infantry battalion chaplain in the Mekong Delta. He was awarded several Bronze Stars (two with valor), the Air Medal, and nine other American and Vietnamese awards. He also was awarded five Meritorious Service medals and two Army Commendation medals. He is author of Combat Chaplain: A Thirty-Year Vietnam Battle. He has written or been written about in many publication including Vet Extra, Vietnam Magazine, Front Porch, the Fayetteville Observer and others.