Michael Uhl

Recent news articles have reported that nearly 216,000 veterans diagnosed with PTSD – post-traumatic stress disorder – receive benefits from the Veterans Administration (VA). Most of these veterans are from the Vietnam period, and many, including myself, were granted their disability ratings only during the last decade. Since 1999, the VA’s PTSD benefit payments have … Continue reading “The Politics of PTSD”

Veterans for Peace (VFP), founded in Maine in 1985, marked its 20th anniversary in early August at the group’s annual convention in Dallas, Texas. With over 100 chapters nationwide, and thousands of dues-paying members who’ve served in war and peace from WWII through the current conflict, VFP has grown into an essential component of the … Continue reading “Mothers and Veterans Reach Out to Middle America”

In reading the Abu Ghraib articles Seymour Hersh wrote for the New Yorker in May (here, here, and here), what struck me about the revelations of abuse and torture was the similarity in detail to what I experienced in Vietnam 35 years ago. The one major difference has been the media’s willingness to embrace in … Continue reading “Vietnam’s Shadow Over Abu Ghraib”