It was an
instant icon, with Dan Rather calling it "the best war photograph in recent years." About 100 newspapers ran the photo, dubbing the
anonymous warrior the "Marlboro Man."
The photograph hit the world on Nov. 10, 2004: a close-cropped shot of a
U.S. Marine in Iraq, his face smeared with
blood and dirt, a cigarette dangling from his lips, smoke curling across weary eyes. He's quieter now -- easier to anger. He turns to fight at the sound of a backfire, can't look at fireworks without thinking of fire raining down on a city. He has
trouble sleeping, and when he does, his fingers twitch on
invisible triggers.
The diagnosis:
post-traumatic stress disorder.
The man in the photograph is
James Blake Miller, now 21, and he is an icon, although in ways Rather probably never imagined.
Previously mentioned briefly here
posted by stenseng
on Jan 29, 2006 -
27 comments
WarIsReal Amazing reading from a fellow millitary blogger who is currently undergoing some high stress as a result of
PTSD and is blogging his prescriptions and counseling sessions.
posted by JJBotter
on May 21, 2005 -
33 comments
Is the aroma of burning flesh putting you off your lunch? An Israeli company called Patus is marketing a new product called
Odor Screen to EMTs, soldiers, cops, and medical staff who work at the sites of suicide bombings, combat zones, and other modern catastrophes. The
Proustian link between smell and vivid memories is
well established, and by displacing traumatic odors with a "calming vanilla aroma," the company hopes to lessen PTSD in first responders, and
that's no laughing matter. [
via medgadget]
posted by digaman
on Feb 9, 2005 -
26 comments
Stress epidemic strikes American forces in Iraq Up to one in five of the American military personnel in Iraq will suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, say senior forces' medical staff dealing with the psychiatric fallout of the war.
This revelation follows the disclosure last month that more than 600 US servicemen and women have been evacuated from the country for psychiatric reasons since the conflict started last March.
posted by Postroad
on Jan 25, 2004 -
24 comments
A Bullet-Proof Mind? "Too much, and you end up with a My Lai.... Too little, and your soldiers will be defeated and killed." A balanced look at the reasons for, and consequences of, the reflex-based killing techniques in which U.S. Special Forces soldiers are trained. (NYTimes Magazine).
posted by josh
on Nov 13, 2002 -
33 comments
