American Families and Vietnam War

The effects of the Vietnam war greatly affected families as the veterans of the war suffered not only from the initial trauma but from the lingering aftereffects of the war, especially in the form of the post traumatic stress disorder that was common among the Vietnam War veterans.

We can see one such example in the family of Terry Allen Jr., his wife Jean Ponder and their three children. Following in the footsteps of his father who was a general in the United States army, Terry Allen Jr. joined the military and was eager to go fight in the Vietnam War and make his father proud. Although the expectation was set that Terry Allen Jr. would have to fight abroad and Jean Ponder would have to take care of her three children alone, Jean Ponder found this task difficult. Terry Allen Jr. completely immersed himself in the war and had minimum contact with his wife. The televised broadcasts of the destruction on both sides and the exposure to anti-war Americans through her job at the radio station made Jean question the integrity of the war and her husband’s participation in it. The lack of communication between the partners due to the war eventually led to a fallout wherein Jean Ponder divorced Terry Allen Jr. Many such families split apart due to the stresses associated with the Vietnam War, this would not only affect the partners but also the children who may have lasting psychological issues from the divorce of their parents.

Even families who maintained strong communication throughout the war had difficulties in maintaining relationships after the partner comes home. Many veterans who served in the military continued to struggle from the effects of serving in the war, especially from post traumatic stress disorder. The inherent differences between the partners due to one serving in the military and one having not served in the military was a major factor for the breaking apart of many marriages. There was minimal help given to the Vietnam War veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder as established above and this mental illness continued to haunt the veterans in the form of nightmares, silence and secrets in their relationships and led to the splitting apart of many families.

Although the effects of war on families back at home are rarely publicized, the effects are far-reaching with numerous families being affected due to the number of men employed in wartime offices and such was the case of the Vietnam war as well.