This past year, I have been watching a lot of reruns on television. Two that come to mind are Perry Mason and Johnny Carson. I enjoy seeing the actors of that era performing. I usually study the credits to see who else I remember.

One thing that struck me were the references to the Second World War. Of course, the draft had assured a large portion of the male population served during the war. There were references to that service on many of the shows. Younger folks probably would not pick up on those references, but I did. Being in my nineties, that war is not ancient history to me. During my high school years, we used the current newspapers to study it.

To go further back, during the late 1930’s I remember men who got together within my hearing often talked about “The Great War.” It wasn’t called the First World War because the next war was still in the future. There was talk of being “gassed.” Those who did, suffered from its aftereffects long after they came home. My Uncle Wayne Stimer was one of them.

There was no television in those days. Most folks were still “down on the farm.” Even though the veterans talked of their experiences, it was hard for their families to grasp what an ordeal it really was. The veterans were spoiled though. There was a lot of truth in that old song about “How’re gonna keep them down on the farm after they’ve seen Paris?” The 1920’s were a time of turmoil and relocation. Yes, and the veterans talked about their experiences.

It was not the same after the Second World War. The veterans didn’t want to talk about it. When they did, it was not about combat, but their personal experiences with the local ladies, etc. Funny stuff. The hard-core-mind-altering memories they held inside. It was called “shell-shock” in the Great War. There was little understanding of the condition. After the Second World War, it was called Post Dramatic Stress Disorder, or PDSD. There were efforts to help them, but they had a hard time discussing their experiences.

I don’t see current references to Viet Nam or the Gulf Wars on the TV shows. Is it still too hard for those vets to talk about? I guess it takes someone my age to remember and try to sort out such memories. We, non-vets, see these recent combats in a different light that we did back in the day with the Great War. Maybe in twenty years or so, with the fighting further in the past, today’s veterans will talk about their experiences. Meanwhile, I’m enjoying the reruns.