Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Heroes Remember

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Transcript

I don’t believe that anybody who was in actual combat at the front, who was killing and being killed, could come out of a battle experience without being scarred. It happens while the battle is going on. These are horrifying things that are happening. But while the battle is going on, you’re busy. You’re fighting. In my case, I had a tank to fight. I had sixteen tanks to be the second-in-command of. I had to deliver messages, I had to put my own gunner on targets. I had responsibilities, and so did everyone of us. So, we just carried on. But you, in my opinion, nobody who experienced that can come out without being affected. You had asked me about my personal affect. I used to have terrible dreams, battle dreams, fighting dreams, killing dreams, being killed dreams. And I would wake up screaming. And it gradually went away. I got married six years after I was wounded and the first year I was married, I had several of these things. My poor wife would wake me up and say, “You’re screaming, you’re hollering. What’s going on?” I had another thing. I had picked up malignant malaria, which takes seven years to go away. So, I would get terrible attacks of malaria and she would have to put me in bed for three days, the shakes and you get too hot and too cold, the whole deal. All of this was going on. But it all burns off. There was no post-traumatic stress disorder analysis or help. If you were so badly injured that you couldn’t function, you then went into the psychological part of things and they took you to institutions and tried to treat you. If you could cope, which almost everybody did. Well, you went home and you carried on with your life and gradually, it disappeared. And I can assure you it’s been forty years since I’ve had any of these things and I don’t think I’ve been, I think I’ve been coping rather well during my whole life. But does everybody get affected? Yes, I think they do. I don’t think there’s anymore happening now than there was then. I think that the knowledge is greater. The technology to handle it is greater. And also, as an old soldier, I think we make a lot more of it than we used to. I think we were tougher in those days.

Description

Mr. Finestone responds to the question, “Was Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) common during your service?”

Bernard J. Finestone

Mr. Finestone was born in Sacramento, California, and moved to Montreal when he was ten months old. His father served with the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery during the First World War. Mr. Finestone joined the COTC while he was studying at McGill University and when the war broke out he was in officer training. Mr. Finestone served as a tank commander in Italy and during the Italian Campaign, he was severely wounded. Mr. Finestone is an active speaker. He speaks to young Canadians about his military experiences and being a Jewish veteran.

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