Author uncovers PTSD in veterans
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Agent Orange has affected Vietnam veterans worse than first thought, an author says.
Bob Kellett is releasing his book, Courage and Comradeship, detailing the history of the highly-decorated New Zealand infantry unit, Victor 3 Company.
The rifle company fought in South Vietnam against the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army from May 1968 to May 1969.
Kellett, a former company platoon leader, learned through a series of interviews for the book what it was like to prepare for war and the commitment veterans gave to predeployment training in New Zealand and Malaysia.
But, it was the post-Vietnam challenges that were most significant for Kellett, who was surprised to learn how many veterans suffered ongoing effects from PTSD and Agent Orange.
‘‘I had been relatively dismissive of it because it didn’t affect me, so I didn’t think it would affect others,’’ he said.
‘‘I found I was wrong, in fact many of the fellows were quite badly affected by it.’’
He said one veteran shared how PTSD also affected loved ones because they had to deal with the repercussions whenever he reacted.
‘‘For many people I spoke to, it was an ongoing thing that after 50 years it is still a problem.’’
Kellett also found people with problems associated to Agent Orange, which he said had been strongly dismissed by the New
Zealand Government. Agent Orange, a herbicide combination, was employed by the United States military during the Vietnam War.
Much of it contained dioxin, a harmful chemical pollutant.
Many Vietnam-era veterans and their families were affected by dioxin, a highly toxic and persistent organic pollutant that has been linked to cancers, diabetes, birth defects and illnesses.
‘‘I was amazed to find that whilst the chaps themselves weren’t necessarily affected, their children and grandchildren were, and that’s quite a sobering thought,’’ Kellett said.
The book included recollections of three wives, including his own, who told of what it was like for the families left behind at a camp in Malaysia. ‘‘We wanted to give a fuller picture, to not only show the soldiers’ side of it, but how the wives reacted and felt about it. It is basically a family history, that is what it aimed to be, and I hope I have achieved that.’’
A review by retired Captain Jeremy Seed said Courage And Comradeship provided an insight into why Kellett and others chose to consign Vietnam to their past and rarely talked about it.
‘‘Bob Kellett has done a superb job telling the unit stories and [he] created aworthy record of their service for future generations to understand and appreciate.
A launch for Courage And Comradeship will be held on May 19 at the Taradale RSA.