Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome in Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried"

American troops evacuated Saigon, South Vietnam on March 25, 1973. Three million veterans survived a tour of duty in Southeast Asia. 58,000 died there. For thousands who returned, the war was not over. Some estimates are that another 50,000 veterans have died due to psychological disorders related to experienced events of the war. This disorder is called Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The qualifications of PTSD can be found in Tim O'Brien's short story, "The Things They Carried".
Men in earlier wars have also shown symptoms of PTSD. It was called by various names: cowardice, lack of military discipline, "shell shock", "war neurosis", stress reaction, battle fatigue, accident neurosis. …