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 …showed first 75 words of 752 total…

…showed last 75 words of 752 total…making himself emotionally "harder". Perhaps at this point in the lives of the soldiers, they were still experiencing the traumatic situations of the war, one can assign the diagnosis of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Given the trauma of the war and the ensuing trauma of returning to a society which did not acknowledge their sacrifice and indeed were not supportive of the war, left those who survived to deal with there traumatic events on there own.