PTSD Flight 1549

The intrepid Captain – cool as a cucumber said he doesn’t know how soon he will be able to fly again.

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - There seems to be a whole bunch of people who think that PTSD is for sissies – NO WAY! The near lethal catastrophe of Flight 1549 and ditching in the Hudson River should give them a wake up call.

The entire event occurred over about 5 minutes and of these 155 people some are psychologically scarred for life.

From the time all of them sensed that they were going to crash many if not most felt this was to be their last seconds or day of life. One of the stewardesses says she can’t even put on her uniform. She came so close to cashing in her chips she must feel it’s like a death shroud.

The intrepid Captain – cool as a cucumber said he doesn’t know how soon he will be able to fly again. Remember he has about 35 years as a pilot including 7 as a Fighter pilot.

He should be cool as a cucumber but for him and all the rest this was as close to a near death experience as they will ever see.

I can compare their near death experience to my own and also to thousands of battle veterans. For us this is/was a different sequel – most of us had to go out again the same or next day. With the same terror.

One of my closest friends was a Bombardier on B-24’s out of Italy in WWII. On their 12th mission with only 4 planes left out of 12, their pilot – captain – went to the medical officer and said “I can’t do this no more”.

He didn’t and the crew didn’t! Oh that he were in the Infantry! However, if he were he probably would be sent back to Corps or Army Headquarters and given a desk job.

However, we supposedly had about 10 thousand battlefield commissions in Europe. They replaced other Lieutenants who didn’t have the option of saying, “I can’t do this any more”. For Infantry Privates like myself and millions more we didn’t have the option of saying “I can’t do this anymore”. We now have 300,000 PTSD Veterans.

I have the greatest respect for Capt “Sully” Sullenberger and his crew of four and can truly empathize with them for the nightmares they have or will have. As far as the 150 passengers are concerned they can proudly wear their survival PTSD badges. They have earned them.

More information on the history of Dr. Leveque can be found in his book, General Patton's Dogface Soldier of WWII about his own experiences "from a foxhole".
Order the book by mail by following this link: Dogface Soldier

Watch for more streaming video question and answer segments about medical marijuana with Bonnie King and Dr. Phil Leveque.

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Arc Dome July 8, 2009 9:50 am (Pacific time)

Actually Phil, it was Flight 1549 not 1459 and the pilot's name is spelled Sullenberger. If Salem-News.com needs a fact checker, I'm available.

Editor: Arc Dome, thanks for helping us and those mistakes may have been ours for all I know. As the editor, I take ultimate responsibility for any errors on Salem-News.com and we always appreciate corrections. As far as being a fact-checker, we do run a tight and lean news team on the operational side, so any people who keep an eye on things and advise us that there are mistakes, are also part of our team and greatly appreciated. Arc Dome, like in Arizona?

Thanks, & you can always email me at tim@salem-news.com

Thad May 6, 2009 6:47 am (Pacific time)

Question, I am teaching a group about PTSD and found an article saying "Higher rates of this disorder have been found to occur in African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans compared to Caucasians in the United States." My question is, why?

Editor: Well this is mostly speculation Thad, but I would connect it to the economic status and challenges of all minorities in the U.S. Remember too that blacks were not allowed to serve with whites in the military until 1947; I guess that is a sidenote. In Vietnam the ASVAB test score requirements were lowered way down to accept "category 4's" and we did that in Iraq a few years ago. This allows people with poorer educations and lower test scores to join the military. In inner-urban areas there are a lot of people with low test scores, criminal records and other problems. I hope this helps, we'd be happy to expand on this, thanks for writing. It is also important to note that black people are not a group that tends to committ suicide as often as their white counterparts. Perhaps that adds some odd kind of balance, we could only hope.

Michele Rosenthal February 11, 2009 4:58 am (Pacific time)

This is such an important piece in that it brings up two very important topics: 1. the strength of survivors should not be overshadowed by their post-trauma dysfuction. They are SURVIVORS, that means they have courage, bravery and stamina that has been greatly depleted by enduring their trauma. We shouldn't mistake their post-trauma dysfunction for weakness. 2. the quicker PTSD is treated the easier it is to heal. I'm a trauma survivor who struggled with UNDIAGNOSED chronic PTSD for 25 years. And then I was diagnosed and went on a healing rampage. It was a tough battle, but I did it. I am into my second year of being PTSD-free. Now, I write a healing PTSD blog (http://parasitesofthemind.blogspot.com) and advocate for the awareness, education, treatment and healing of PTSD so that others will be diagnosed sooner and heal faster.

Anonymous February 10, 2009 11:48 am (Pacific time)

Not everyone develops PTSD from the different traumatic events they experience, and for those that do, there are many different levels of symptomology. I say this from experience in my own life as does the author of the above article. The returning Vietnam veteran was treated horribly when they returned, so suppression of feelings was very common, which delayed and aggravated their symptoms in some cases. Most all the other conflicts that I can think of, no returning vet was treated as badly, but still the combat Vietnam veterans I know still continue to try to get better. Misinformation about their service is one of the biggest contributors that still cause them considerable grief. Getting facts for all are returning vets is very important. The New York Times has consistently put out false information about our current returning veterans. My prayers are that publication fades away and the people responsible for misinformation have accountibility.

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