Re: Why did the Vietnam war seem to cause greater psychological damage?

Well, I must admit I know very little about this topic. But it happens a 
colleague of mine is a psychiatrist and retired army colonel with a great 
deal of knowledge about post-traumatic stress disorder, psychiatry 
disorders in general, and war. So my answer comes from him (unfortunately i 
can't provide you with any references, though). According to my colleague, 
Dr. Harry Holloway, the number of psychiatric casualties was in fact not 
greater in Vietnam veterans than in vets of previous wars. He estimated the 
psychiatric casualties of Vietnam at about 9%. In World War II, there 
were around a million psychiatric casualties, and these casualties were 
in large part responsible for the growth of the VA system. The nature of 
the problems has indeed differed from conflict to conflict, because the 
types of exposures have differed (e.g., gas phobia was common after WWI 
because gas was commonly used in that war; numbness was a common problem in 
Korean vets, and hyperventilation in Vietnam vets). And media coverage was 
extensive after WWI - shell shock got a lot of press. However, the media 
may give the impression that Vietnam was worse for a number of reasons, 
including the one you mentioned (recency), and the fact that the war turned 
out badly. Dr. Holloway offered to send me some references; I will forward 
them to you if I receive them.