The Nevada News, a publication of the University of Nevada at Reno, had
an article this week entitled, "The Battle Continues: Life after War," about the screening of a social work graduate student's documentary film about veterans and PTSD, called "Saigon 1965 to Baghdad 2007.P The film by Michial Nolan examines Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in veterans from previous wars (i.e., Vietnam) in the context of delayed activation or reactivation of PTSD as a result of the current war in Iraq.
Says the article:
Nolan’s film depicts service personnel experiences in Vietnam, the Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq. Two veterans will attend the screening to talk about their experiences. One gentleman will talk about his journey to self-discovery over the last 40 years.
“In conducting the research to produce my film, I found that many veterans from wars other than the war in Iraq were experiencing a reactivation of PTSD based off of images they saw via media,” Nolan said. “In 1999 there were 90,000 cases of PTSD reported. By 2004 that number had increased to 161,000. The projected cost of treating this condition over the last 40 years is between $350 and $700 billion.”
Based on a suggestion from University of Wisconsin professor Craig Werner, Nolan included music in his film to assess PTSD reactivation in Vietnam veterans based on popular music listened to during that time. Some of the songs included are “Another Saturday Night,” by Sam Cook, “Lodi,” by Credence Clearwater Revival, “A Little Help From My Friends,” by Joe Cocker as well as “Chain of Fools,” by Aretha Franklin.
“I want veterans to know that I appreciate their service and have a commitment to understanding the impact war takes on them,” Nolan said. “The film came together so well; I can’t watch it without being moved.”
