The U.S. Supreme Court, the Death Penalty, and PTSD

The U.S. Army's "suicide crisis" has brought needed attention to the issue of post-traumatic stress disorder among soldiers.

As of November 16, 140 active duty soldiers and 71 non-active duty soldiers had killed themselves. The rise in both suicides and incidences of PTSD appear to be linked.

On November 30, the Supreme Court of the United States gave hope to a Korean war veteran sentenced to death in Florida. George Porter returned from Korea a traumatized and changed man, the Court said in its opinion. He suffered from PTSD as a result of his battle experience, yet his lawyers never brought it to the attention of the jury at trial in 1988.

As a result, the court held, the representation provided Porter fell below minimum Constitutional standards. The justices seemed to say that if members of the jury had been informed of his service in combat and resultant trauma, they might have spared his life.

The Washington Post reported that the justices of the Supreme Court were "strikingly sympathetic" to Porter, who shot his former girlfriend and her new boyfriend 13 years ago.

The justices highlighted Porter's PTSD, saying, "Our nation has a long history of according leniency to veterans in recognition of their service, especially for those who fought on the front lines as Porter did. Moreover, the relevance of Porter's extensive combat experience is not only that he served honorably under extreme hardship and gruesome conditions, but also that the jury might find mitigating the intense stress and mental and emotional toll that combat took on Porter."

TheSupreme Court cast no doubt on his guilt, but sent the case back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.

Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times said that "the most notable feature" of the opinion "was the sympathy that all nine justices displayed for a man who, in the fullness of his adulthood and after promising a friend that she would soon be reading about him in the newspaper, stole another friend's gun and shot two people to death in cold blood." Opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/category/linda-greenhouse/

The Court seemed to go out of its way to show that it takes PTSD seriously. What do you think?

(Porter v. McCollum)

New Resource for Families Dealing with War Trauma

My Story: Blogs by Four Military Teens

This is helpful information for the teenager in the family — a group we often ignore when discussing the struggles of the returning combat veteran. It's a book written by Michelle Sherman, a clinical psychologist in Oklahoma, who specializes in supporting families affected by PTSD/trauma

Dr. Sherman wrote it primarily as a source of support and education for military teens, but also as a tool to educate civilian youth about the military family experience.

This is especially important now because the military is so isolated from the rest of society. It's very different from World War II, when a teenager was almost sure to find others on the block who had a family member involved in the war effort.

Although the four young bloggers in the book are fictional, the stories are real ones taken from the lives of teens Dr. Sherman actually knows.

The four kids blog about:

• Pride in parent's military service
• Confusion, anger and sadness over deployment
• Challenge of reconnecting after homecoming
• Finding a "new normal"
• Divorce
• Teen depression
• Excitement of homecoming
• Dealing with parent's emotional and physical challenges post-deployment
• Resilience and post-traumatic growth

See the website www.SeedsofHopeBooks.com for more information.

"How do your siblings feel about your book?"

I'm often asked, "How do your siblings feel about your book?"

My older brother plays an important part in my book, just as he has in my life. He recently blogged about what it's like to be in a book (mine), and he picked up on one of the most important things I learned while writing:

Each sibling has a different childhood. We might live under the same roof with the same parents, but we arrive at different times in our parents' lives. All sorts of things change in the time between our births: the stresses vary, the income fluctuates, and the temperature of the marital relationship rises and falls.

My brother John (to whom I refer in the book as "Jay," his boyhood nickname) would have written a much different book— an angrier book— he says. We both recognize that it's my perspective, not his or anyone else's, that appears in The Box from Braunau.

However you look at it, my brother is one of the most interesting and engaging people I know. He's always digging into a mystery. John's a guest columnist on the website of America's premier cultural prankster, Joey Skaggs, where his LiteratEye column appears on Fridays. He also maintains a news blog on literary deception. If you're intrigued by literary fraud, or if you want to see what John says (scroll down to #34) about being in my book (or any book), check out his posts.

Five things I wish I'd asked my father about World War II

Five years after my father died, I finished my book about Dad's experiences during World War II. I had spent a lot of time holed up in libraries, museums, and places like the National Archives doing research about the war. He'd left a journal of his time in combat, excerpts of which are contained in the book, but I wanted to make sure I properly filled in the blanks left by the journal. I delved into the history of battles, the strategy, and dusty old records of the 80th Infantry Division.

I was able to answer many of the questions I had about his military service. And since Dad and I had a few conversations about the war in the year or so before he passed away, I was able to get more information about his personal experiences.

But in truth, writing the book after his death raised many more questions than it answered. Learning about the battle plans, the After Action Reports, and all the dates and times regarding his war made me want to know how he'd felt about it. So as Father's Day approaches, I decided to pull together five things I wished I'd asked my father about World War II, things only he could answer. Doesn't hurt to ask.

These are a few questions I might have asked him over a warm cup of coffee, sitting on the couch one morning, or over a beer down at the pub. I'm going settle in with a cup of coffee now and pretend Dad is sitting with me. I'll start with the questions in a gentle manner, since he didn't like to talk about this subject very much:

— Who was your best friend during the war?

I know that in your war journal you mention Graham quite often. He was a friend from your hometown of Frostburg, Maryland but he received a serious head wound not long after you entered battle in France, and was sent home. After that, who, if anyone, took his place? Did you have another best friend?

— Describe two incidents, one humorous and one serious, that you remember most vividly from the war.

— How did you deal with fear?

I know from your journal that you were very frightened during some of the artillery shelling and thought you were going to die more than once. Were you ever scared enough to think about running the other way? And I often wondered, what keeps soldiers from doing that?

— What was it like to come home?

And what might be more interesting, and surprising — what was it like six months later? Was it hard to adjust over the longer term?

— Lastly, I want to ask about Ebensee, the terrible concentration camp

I know now that you went to this camp and observed it only days after it was liberated by your Division. You had nightmares for years and suffered from your memories of that camp. You even said that it was far worse than anything you'd seen in combat. But did you ever talk about it before I asked you about it five years ago?

Anyone who has the chance to sit on the couch somewhere with a veteran, particularly a veteran of the Second World War, might try asking some questions. It will probably lead to an interesting conversation, and one you'll be glad you had. So grab that cup or coffee (or glass of beer), and don't forget the tape recorder.

"The Greatest Generation" is Sometimes Uncomfortable with the Title

My friend George Anderson is proud of his service in the 318th Infantry Regiment in World War II but he is not fond of the term "Greatest Generation." George says that today's generation — or any generation — would perform comparably to his in wartime, and that we should let all our veterans know that we honor them and appreciate their service.

I thought of World War II veterans like George and my father when my friend April Moore sent me a link to a wonderful article called "High-Five Nation," written by David Brooks in the New York Times.

"It made me think of your dad," she said.

After reading it, I wondered if the soft spot we have in our collective hearts for that generation might come, not just from our admiration of the sacrifices they made and the success they ultimately had, but from our appreciation for their humility. See it on Andy Schmookler's blog at www.nonesoblind.org/blog?p=4174/

Role of Women in Wartime: Today vs. World War II

That's a huge topic, and not one that I'm going to tackle at the moment. But I do want to explore the role of women in one regard: the soldier's return home. I spoke at Politics and Prose (our wonderful local bookstore) recently and talked about how my mother and many other women had dealt with the joys and difficulties of that reunion in 1946. A member of the audience rose and asked, "How different is it now, with women soldiers returning from a war zone, sometimes to a family with young children - children who may not remember their mothers any more than your brother remembered your father when he returned from overseas?" What a great question. If any of you can shed light on this subject, please contact me at info@janelvin.com or leave a comment here. I'd especially like to talk to any women who have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan and have returned home to family.

And I'd like to thank to Jenny Andrews from www.notalone.com for her help. The site is a great resource, devoted to helping the community of military men, women and families to face the challenges of coming home.

On other fronts, I will be giving a talk about The Box from Braunau: In Search of My Father's War and signing books tomorrow night, October 1, in Ellicott City, Maryland at the Howard County Library, Miller Branch. You can call to sign up and get directions 410/313-1950, or go online to www.hclibrary.org to sign up. (It's not necessary to sign up in order to attend, but it helps them figure out how many chairs to put out!)

Thursday, October 1, 2009 7 p.m. Howard County Library Miller Branch 9421 Frederick Road Ellicott City, MD 21042

Photo above: My mother, Jane Elvin, showing me Raggedy Ann, early 1947.

Need Your Feedback on Women in Military

In this blog, I'm issuing a request:

Do you know any women in the military who would be willing to be interviewed? I'm particularly interested in finding a woman who's been deployed to a combat zone and has had to leave a family behind, and who's willing to talk about her experience upon returning home.

The photo above is of my parents and my older brother, shortly before my father left for France in 1944, where he fought in General Patton's Third Army. In The Box from Braunau: In Search of My Father's War, I outline some of the problems our family faced upon his return and in ensuing years. I am curious to hear how different that might be for women who return now from Iraq and Afghanistan.

If you are interested, please send me an email at info@janelvin.com, either to tell me your story or perhaps to tell me about someone you know. Thanks so much for any help and feedback on this! I'll keep you posted on what I find out.

Summer Break Almost Over...

I'll be back, as Ahnold said.

I've been traveling, to wonderful San Francisco and to the Delaware beach for some summer family time, and to Pittsburgh for the 90th Reunion of the 80th Infantry Division.

I'll have more to say about the Reunion next week, when I'm back at work. I hope to see you then!

The Box from Braunau Starts a Conversation

Last week I drove 50 miles north to pay a visit to Clayton Warman and his wife, Anne. Clayton is a decorated veteran of World War II who served alongside my father in Patton's Third Army, the 80th Infantry Division. I met him while working on the book, and we quickly became friends.

We settled in to catch up in his comfy living room that looks out on the Catoctin mountain range, and Clayton told me this story:

His granddaughter had stopped by the previous evening, just to say hi. My book, The Box from Braunau was on the floor by her chair. She saw it and asked her grandfather if he knew the soldier whose photo graced the cover. He said yes, he had known my father during the war.

Had I written about Clayton in the book? she asked then. When he said I had, she wanted to read it.

Over the course of the next three hours, she drew him into a conversation about the war - not only his personal stories and his feelings about going to war, but the wider implications regarding the political situation that led up to it.

My book got them talking. Clayton told me that none of his grandchildren had ever asked about his experiences during World War II before. He seemed happy that the book had opened the door to a new conversation with his young granddaughter.

Women Veterans Are More Apt to Become Homeless

Men - they certainly took up most of the space in my book about my father and his experiences in World War II. The fighting Army then was made up entirely of men, with women occupying the more supportive roles. Of course, times have changed now, and women are part of the fighting force in Iraq and Afghanistan. Here are some startling and disturbing statistics about women veterans and homelessness, offered by Bryan Bender, of the Boston Globe (July 5, 2009). This came to me via Ilona Meagher's terrific blog.

"As more women serve in combat zones, the share of female veterans who end up homeless, while still relatively small at an estimated 6,500, has nearly doubled over the last decade, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. For younger veterans, it is even more pronounced: One out of every 10 homeless vets under the age of 45 is now a woman, the statistics show. ...

"Overall, female veterans are now between two and four times more likely to end up homeless than their civilian counterparts, according to the VA, most as a result of the same factors that contribute to homelessness among male veterans: mental trauma related to their military service and difficulty transitioning into the civilian economy. ...

"According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, a nonpartisan advocacy group in Washington, about 23 percent of the homeless population in the United States are veterans. Nearly half are from the Vietnam era and three-fourths experience some type of alcohol, drug, or mental heath problem. Most of the homeless vets, who are estimated by the Veteran’s Administration to number at least 130,000 on any given night nationwide, are men older than 50.

"With a new generation of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan leaving the armed forces, however, the demographics are swiftly changing. And with more women serving on active duty - a full 15 percent of the military is now female - the share of female homeless veterans has grown from about 3 percent a decade ago to 5 percent, according to the VA."



There are more problems for women veterans. The Government Accounting Office (GAO) issued a report recently detailing significant barriers faced by women veterans when trying to access VA care. You can read more about this on the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) website. This group works hard for the welfare of our veterans.

Box from Braunau Resonates with Baby Boomers

Thank you for coming to read my blog. In the weeks since The Box from Braunau came out, I've noticed that much of the interest in it comes from other baby boomers, that is, people whose fathers may have served in either World War II, or the Korean War. They want to touch the past, to understand their own father's war, or to fill in the gaps in their family history. The Box from Braunau has had an impact on them. Here are some of the comments readers have made:

"Your book and some of the similarities moved me immensely...The timing in your story and mine are different, some of the key characters rearranged, but at many points I felt like I was reliving some of my early angst through you. It has had a profound effect on my and I will have to put this on my list of all-time favorite books."

"I think there's much in the book that can touch a lot of people, not just those with fathers who 'went to war.' Don't we all, when we're older, wish we'd taken the time to talk more to our parents, find out who they really were - you actually followed through on that."

"I read your blog and was struck that our journeys to understand our fathers' war seem to be on parallel tracks. I think there must be countless baby boomers who are on the same path..."

"I connected with your story because of my own experience. My guess is that you hear from a lot of people about how the book helped them better understand their own fathers' experience.

"I am overwhelmed by your generosity in helping me find some piece of this big huge puzzle I've opened.

"My father was a bomber pilot in WWII. THis book helped me better connect to his era and understand why his war experience as a young man made such an indelible impact on the rest of his life."

"You are taking a great step in the healing work that continues generations after WWII."

Thanks to all readers for the comments so far. I would love to hear more from you. Share your stories with me by leaving a comment here!

The Term "PTSD" Hides the Truth

The controversial comedian George Carlin died a little over a year ago. I think the world is a duller place without him. Here is his riff on euphemisms —he's particularly angry here about the use of the term "PTSD," or "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder." He thinks that "soft language" hides the reality and the humanity of what happens in combat when a fighting person's nervous system is stressed to its absolute maximum and cannot take any more. Here are Carlin's comments:

"I don't like words that hide the truth. I don't like words that conceal reality. I don't like euphemisms, or euphemistic language. And American English is loaded with euphemisms. Cause Americans have a lot of trouble dealing with reality. Americans have trouble facing the truth, so they invent the kind of a soft language to protect themselves from it, and it gets worse with every generation. For some reason, it just keeps getting worse. I'll give you an example of that.

"There's a condition in combat. Most people know about it. It's when a fighting person's nervous system has been stressed to it's absolute peak and maximum. Can't take anymore input. The nervous system has either (click) snapped or is about to snap.

"In the first world war, that condition was called shell shock. Simple, honest, direct language. Two syllables, shell shock. Almost sounds like the guns themselves.

"That was seventy years ago. Then a whole generation went by and the second world war came along and very same combat condition was called battle fatigue. Four syllables now. Takes a little longer to say. Doesn't seem to hurt as much. Fatigue is a nicer word than shock. Shell shock! Battle fatigue.

"Then we had the war in Korea, 1950. Madison avenue was riding high by that time, and the very same combat condition was called operational exhaustion. Hey, we're up to eight syllables now! And the humanity has been squeezed completely out of the phrase. It's totally sterile now. Operational exhaustion. Sounds like something that might happen to your car.

"Then of course, came the war in Viet Nam, which has only been over for about sixteen or seventeen years, and thanks to the lies and deceits surrounding that war, I guess it's no surprise that the very same condition was called post-traumatic stress disorder. Still eight syllables, but we've added a hyphen! And the pain is completely buried under jargon. Post-traumatic stress disorder.

"I'll bet you if we'd of still been calling it shell shock, some of those Viet Nam veterans might have gotten the attention they needed at the time. I'll betcha. I'll betcha."

Nice reviews for The Box from Braunau!

I was happy to see my book get positive reviews from several blogs over the last week, so I'm going to spotlight three of them here.

• Lavanya Karthik, of Mumbai, writes in her Bookpleasures review:

"Soldiers aren't the only casualties of war," says author Jan Elvin in the afterword of this engrossing and well written memoir.

• Emily Decobert of Bookpleasures, has this to say:

What parts [her father] didn't write about, Ms. Elvin fills in the blanks with careful research. It gives a vibrant, living real experience, a snap shot of some of the worst fighting in WWII.

• Lois Henderson writes in her review in Bookpleasures:

Well illustrated with black and white photographs, and supplemented by a comprehensive index, bibliography and glossary, this part history part memoir is of importance to scholar and general reader alike.

The Box from Braunau provides accessible and informative reading for all those interested in journalism and the social dynamics of warfare.

And please see my guest post at the Amacom author blog site, where I write about Five Things I Wish I'd Asked My Father about World War II.

On Father's Day

This will be the fifth Father's Day without my father, and I miss him. Not that we did much to mark the day — a card, brunch with my husband and son and any siblings who could make the trek. He never wanted a fuss made over him about anything. I recently found a letter I wrote him one Father's Day, nineteen years ago, noting the things that made him a wonderful dad.

Among them were his sense of loyalty to family, his integrity, his "brains," the trips we took to Glen Echo Park, the pool, and his love of his newspaperman job. He didn't say too much about the letter other than a sincere thanks for it. But he started writing some of his own. On my 50th birthday Dad sent a card that said, "As you consider your 50th, with mixed feelings, it may be of interest that, at the age of 78, I am enjoying one of the happiest years of my life."

That's really the best gift, and one I want to remember in regard to my son and all those relatives younger than I: creating a happy life is the best thing you can do for yourself, and for your children.

The photo is of Dad and me at Deep Creek Lake in Oakland, Maryland.

Holocaust Memorial Museum Shooting

I just heard about the shooting at the Holocaust Museum in Washington a few hours ago. I wasn't going to write about it, mostly because it looks to be a "lone shooter," James von Brunn, an 89-year old white supremacist who has apparently spent his life on a crusade against the government.

It appears to be one man who acted alone, although he wants to represent a vast conspiracy of haters bent on shooting innocent people, including families with children, who would visit the Museum on a warm afternoon in June. 

Why give someone like that more attention? I thought. I'm tired of seeing the ranters and twisters of the truth get airtime. I would rather focus my attention on and wishes for recovery for the security guard who was injured by the shooter, and his or her family. The guard is in critical condition as I write this. So is the alleged shooter.

But then I began to listen to Northeastern University criminologist Jack Levin, an expert on hate crimes. I felt sick listening to him as he tried to shed light on the shooting. He was aware of the anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-black, anti-anything-not-Aryan ravings posted on Von Brunn's and other's websites. He said, "I would have to say that this is part of the 'Obama effect.' " While many people like President Obama, Levin said, and see his leadership as unifying, some, "not many, but some people feel threatened." 

Professor Levin felt the shooting signifies a broad dissatisfaction (to put it mildly) with the election of a black president. 

Could it trigger something more violent? asked the CNN reporter. Professor Levin replied that this type of hate crime has increased as a result of Obama's campaign. The white supremacists are incensed at seeing blacks and Jews in the White House.

The state of the economy, along with the unprecedented numbers of immigrants, makes these people feel even more threatened. Somebody has got to be blamed for it. 

Von Brunn believes, not surprisingly, that the Holocaust is a hoax. 

People go to the Holocaust Museum to learn about the long and detestable history of hate crimes, seen through the lens of events surrounding World War II. The visitors to the Museum, and all of us, today learned that there's nothing new under the sun. When I told my husband about the shootings, he shook his head and said, "It never ends." 

The Jack Levin interview

The Wounded in Spirit on Memorial Day

The Washington Post published a very moving and timely editorial last Sunday, on Memorial Day. The Post urged us to keep all our veterans and their families in mind, but particularly those wounded in spirit as well as in body. The military is beginning to pay serious attention to the high rate of suicides and the numbers of soldiers reported to have post-traumatic stress disorder.

In 2005 the Army saw 86 suicides. By 2008 the number had risen to 133. 

 Three members of the famed 101st Airborne Division have been killed in combat in Afghanistan so far this year.  Eleven have committed suicide in the same period of time. The Army has put Ft. Campbell, home of the 101st, on a three-day "standdown" to focus on this disturbing problem and encourage soldiers to seek help if they feel they are in danger of taking their own lives. The Army acknowledges that the only absolute remedy is for the troops to have more time with their families, but that is not likely to happen for at least the next 18 months. 

Here is the link to the editorial:

Memorial Day: let us not overlook those wounded in spirit.

Connect to the story in history on Memorial Day

   

The photo is of my great-uncle, Arthur Smith, greeting a child in Belgium during World War I. He returned home to farm his family's land in Western Pennsylvania.

Every year as Memorial Day approaches, someone writes a column about how shallow we are as a nation to be caught up in daydreaming about the hot dogs and burgers on the grill, the guest list for the picnic, or the opening of the swimming pool, especially when so many of our soldiers are in danger at war overseas. I won't argue with the criticism. The purpose of Memorial Day, after all, is to honor and remember those who have who died in the service of their country. And I've been as guilty as anyone. While I could be thinking of what and whom the day represents, my mind is more likely to be found wandering over to the potato salad. 

This year will be different. I've been focused on veterans a lot after writing about my dad and his World War II service, and I asked myself how I could better honor the day. It feels more important than it did before I wrote the book. War and the horror it brings can't really co-exist with the holiday mood, and a moment needs to be set aside to remember. In a way, Memorial Day is for the living, for the survivors — the Gold Star mother or father, the child, or husband or wife who is sadly left with only memories.

The best way for me to mark Memorial Day, I decided, was to take some time to talk to a World War II veteran, perhaps with my tape recorder or notepad at hand to record his or her stories. I'd be glad to talk to any veteran — I mention World War II because, as I've said before, time is running out. 

Jerry Waxler writes in his blog, Memory Writers Network, that we need to "get those stories while there is still time." Some of us, he says, may be secretly hesitant because our parent or grandparent has memory lapses and we don't want to embarrass them with questions impossible to answer. Waxler discovered an interesting fact about memory loss — that short term memory deteriorates before long term memory, so the distant past may be accessible although the person remembers little of what took place yesterday. 

You never know what you might learn in the interview. In my next blog, I'll be talking — and listening — to a World War II veteran. How about in your family —why don't you get out the video or tape recorder and see what stories they have to tell? As Rudyard Kipling said, "If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten."

And you can have fun doing it. It is a holiday weekend, time for family and picnics. As I talk with a friend who's a World War II veteran, I'm sure I'll find time to look for that potato salad.

Ebensee anniversary marred by Nazi salutes and "Heil Hitler"

Five young men, dressed in army fatigues, were arrested last Saturday in Ebensee, Austria after disrupting the commemoration of the 64th anniversary of the liberation of the camp from Nazi hands. They gave Nazi salutes, shouted "Heil Hitler," and shot pellets at several of the visitors, according to police.

Their actions were in violation of Austrian law, which bans neo-Nazi activities. The president of the Austrian parliament, Barbara Prammer, called the incident " beyond belief, dastardly, and shameful," and called for a full investigation.

In last week's blog I talked about the 64th anniversary of the liberation of this same concentration camp. I learned about Ebensee from my father just before he passed away. Toward the end of the war, he and other members of the Armed Forces in Europe were urged by Generals Eisenhower and Patton to go and observe the camps as they were liberated, because both men were outraged at what they had seen in the camps. They wanted to make sure there were as many witnesses as possible to the horrors that had taken place.

Ebensee's day of liberation came on May 6, but was marked this year on the 10th, a Saturday. It's a day that brings people from all over the world, many of them camp survivors and their families, as well as the American soldiers who arrived to assure their freedom. The numbers dwindle each year as the two groups age, but in spite of the difficulties of travel, many make the pilgrimage.

When I heard what had happened this year with these neo-Nazis, I thought back to 2005, when I attended the solemn events with three friends. Both soldiers and survivors were flooded with anguished memories. Survivors greeted each other with almost disbelief that they were still alive. Tears flowed as the crowd listened quietly and respectfully to the speakers.

I can't imagine what it was like last Saturday for that respectful quiet to be so crudely and cruelly broken. Sometimes words fail.

I took the photo above at the 60th anniversary commemoration at Ebensee in 2005.

Never Forget Ebensee, liberated on May 6, 1945

 

Ebensee, Austria - Sixty-four years ago today the inmates at the concentration camp — emaciated, frightened, and near death — were surprised by the sound of tanks rumbling up the road. Those who were able to ventured up to the gates to see what was going on as two tanks from the U.S. Third Cavalry roared inside the enclosure. The tanks stopped suddenly. They were unable to proceed because the mass of shocked humanity began crawling over the tanks, yelling and cheering and crying. Some simply stared in disbelief.

 

It was a day both inmates and soldiers would remember forever — the day of liberation May 6, 1945.

 

I had planned to write some more today about researching your family's military history, but with a jolt I realized what day it was and remembered what had happened 64 years ago. Since then the people in the camp have been on my mind — the people who lived through the torment and those who died from it. And also the soldiers who came upon the camp, such as my father, in the days following the liberation. Prisoners were so malnourished that, as the soldiers began to feed them, hundreds died because they couldn't digest the food.

Today we can remember them in whatever we do throughout the day — I can't suggest if or how you would do that, but I will keep them close all day in mind and heart. Some I will think of are:

• Max Garcia, a Dutch Sephardic Jew who survived and went on to fulfill his dream of becoming a successful architect in San Francisco;
• Andrew Sternberg, only fourteen when taken by the Germans, who brought his grandchildren to the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the camp;
• Sgt. Bob Persinger who, after leading the Third Cavalry tank crew into the camp, has never been able to erase the memory from his mind;
• My father, Lt. Bill Elvin, who observed the camp several days after its liberation, and said that afterwards, he ran into the woods, devastated and nearly in tears.
• But most of all, the 8,300 who perished at Ebensee at the hands of such monstrous cruelty.

The photo at right shows Polish survivors of the camp at the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the camp.

The next step to finding your father's war - hit the National Archives

Research — military history research — may not sound exciting, bringing to mind dusty, aged tomes that deal with past wars and days gone by. But imagine, as you thumb through those worn and often ragged pages, suddenly coming upon a familiar name in the U.S. Army Morning Reports — your own father's name.

 

If you've already interviewed your father or other veteran, you know about his or her* military life: where he fought, his rank, and something about the experiences he had. Unfortunately, it may be too late for a personal interview, especially with a veteran of the Second World War. You're left to do your own investigation. In my blog last week, I outlined steps you can take to dip into this research, and so now you're ready to tackle Big Research — the National Archives. If you're anything like me, just naturally inquisitive, this part is fascinating.

 

The National Archives is a terrific place to do this detective work. Try to spend a few days at the Archives in College Park, Maryland (just a stone's throw from D.C.). If you can't do that, quite a bit of information is still available to you online. Just go to http://www.archives.gov/veterans and start there. Be sure to check out the brochure for World War II veterans. 

 

But there's something deeply satisfying about burrowing down in one of those desks, settling in to touch and leaf through original World War II documents. The papers you hold were written in the midst of the chaos of battle. 

Let's say your father's name is John Fine. You know his Division and Company. While at the Archives, you can look for:

• Unit journals and histories
• After Action Reports
• Morning Reports
• Photos and movies
• Stars and Stripes (the daily newspaper published for the U.S. military)

 

Imagine that John Fine was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. You've learned, perhaps from the helpful people at the Archives, what dates encompassed that gruesome battle. Poring over Morning Reports and scanning pages full of names you don't recognize, you become a bit bleary-eyed. Then you see a familiar name — John Fine. It's quite a moment.

 

The Morning Reports also contain much more sobering information that you will see: the names of individuals who were killed in action or listed as missing in action, as well as wounded.

 

The first time I found my dad's name in the records, I encountered a yellowed sheet of paper dated November 10, 1944 and labeled "318th, E Company," listing:

Elvin William J Jr. (Inf) 1st Lt.

Above 2 O and 3 EM fr dy to LWA sk 305th Med Clr Sta. fr LWA sk 305th

Med Clr Sta to lost hosp as of 8 Nov 44.

 

Those abbreviations meant that Lt. Elvin had been wounded in action and was sent to the hospital.The feeling it gave me is hard to describe. The phrasing, "lost to hosp[ital]" seemed quaint yet chilling when connected with the bullet that took a portion of my father's forearm. The worn paper and the words on it brought me closer to imagining the pain, blood, and fear behind them.

Here's what the abbreviations stand for:

• O - officer
• EM - enlisted men
• Fr - from
• Dy- duty
• LWA - lightly wounded in action
• Sk - sick
• Med Clr Sta - Medical Clearing Station

If you follow these guidelines, you will see how to make historical research personal.

* I use the pronoun "his" when referring to combat veterans for several reasons. My book is about my father, who served in World War II, so my research centered on him and that time frame. But of course readers may be searching for women. I mainly use the masculine because women will only rarely appear in the documents I reference. 

 

Take the first step to research your father's war - don't wait!

 

 

 

My father, 1st Lt. William J. Elvin

Company E, 318th Infantry Regiment,

80th Infantry Division

Served in the European Theater of Operations 1944-45.

 

 

 

"To understand your father, you need to understand his war" was the title of my last blog. But how do you go about acquiring that understanding?

 

If you are fortunate and your father is still alive, I suggest that you take the time to ask him to share his war remembrances. Then sit back and listen. Videotape the conversation, or at least use a tape recorder.

 

Time to do this is running out. Veterans of World War II are leaving us at a rate of around 1200 per day, and those who remain are all over 80 years of age. Once he has passed away, the opportunity will be lost to you.

 

The conversation may change your life — for my part, opening up this subject let me see a vulnerable young man who'd endured things I'd had no idea about, other than in the abstract. While his recollections have historical significance, they will also allow you to share some moments you may treasure in later years.

 

You need only a few things to get started:

 

·      A tape recorder or video recorder

·      A list of questions

·      A dash of curiosity and patience

 

For your first interview, or conversation, concentrate on the basics:

 

·      In what branch of the service did he serve? And where?

·      What was his rank?

·      In what unit did he serve - Division, Regiment, Company? (While these sometimes changed during the course of the war, a combat veteran will identify with the unit he did combat with.)

·      Was he awarded any medals or decorations? What were the circumstances?

·      In what campaigns did he participate?

 

Even if he's been reluctant in the past to talk about the war, your father may be more willing now that he sees his life coming to a close.

 

A complete list of questions can be found at the Veterans History Project, a project of the Library of Congress.

 

Jonathan Gawne, in his wonderful book about Finding Your Father's War: A Practical Guide to Researching and Understanding Service in the World War II US Army, makes a point worth remembering: "Not every soldier fought on the front line. Do not be discouraged if your father wasn't a paratrooper at Normandy or a tank commander at Bastogne. Truth is always more interesting than fiction, and every task in the Army was an important one in supporting the final victory over the Axis."

 

         By preserving your father's memories, you are giving a gift to yourself, your family and your descendants. You are treating his service and his experiences, the good and the bad, with respect. It's a wonderful way for you to honor him.

To understand your father, understand his war

Hi, I'm Jan Elvin. Welcome to my first blog! I'm glad you're here. Your probably visiting because you've looked at the website for my book, a book I wrote to uncover the secrets of war that my father kept hidden, but also out of a longing to understand him better. The book's title is The Box from Braunau: In Search of My Father's War. There's a story behind the box from Braunau, of course, but it's the subtitle — the in search of — that leads you to the deeper meaning of the story.

About me:

I live in Washington, DC, which gives me the chance to do two things I love: ride my bike and walk along the river or canal. I'm married to a human rights lawyer and am the mother of a grown son and four step-daughters.

After spending the last several years digging around the in the National Archives and through family records, I finally learned what caused the nightmares Dad brought back from the war. 

About my father:

First Lieutenant Bill Elvin fought in the 80th Infantry Division during World War II under General George S. Patton in Europe. He was wounded by a sniper firing from a church tower in France, and was later awarded a Silver Star for gallantry in action.

He and my mother moved to the Washington, DC  area in 1946 where he worked in the newspaper business as a reporter and editor.

I wanted to know what happened to my father during World War II, but it was his "inner war" that intrigued me. The memories of combat and concentration camps plagued him throughout his entire life, straining family harmony.

What I'd like to do here:

• Extend a hand to any family member of a combat veteran
• Give tips on how to break the long silence between soldier and family
• Provide insight to women/girls navigating relationships with their fathers
• Illustrate how you can explore your family's military history
• Deliver to you the latest research on issues of concern to veterans
• Post news items and reviews of books relating to veterans
• Show you how to contact other veterans and veterans' families
• Make this a place to share your experiences as a soldier, veteran, family member

I'm writing this blog to and for you, the child of the World War II veteran, 

but it could just as easily be to those of you who are veterans of any war, 

or to you, the spouse or the parent ofthe soldier. I'd love to add your voices

to this blog — I care about what you have to say andothers will, too.

The Box from Braunau will be published in May 2009 by AMACOM.

Copyright 2009 by Jan Elvin. All rights reserved.