By: Lori Grinker Some of the war images from this video may be too graphic for some viewers. Photojournalist Lori Grinker profiled three former U.S. service members suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. The video, which features Hart Viges, Mark Wilkerson and Jessica Goodell telling their stories in their own words, was produced by Grinker for the Dart Society, an association of journalists who cover violence. The audio inconsistencies are due to the differing locations and modes of interviewing, including Skype. Hart Viges, Mark Wilkerson and Jessica Goodell all volunteered for the military. They all chose to go to war, and they have all suffered from PTSD. But none of them fully recognized it until after they were home. The war’s smells and sounds, and the reflexes they developed to survive in Iraq stayed with them in their home life. People experience trauma in different ways, and in some cases their backgrounds can come into play. Viges hailed from a family of veterans who valued military service. Wilkerson, also from a military family, was deeply affected as a young child by seeing his mother being beaten. Goodell believed “real” Marines were the ones who experienced combat. This multimedia essay is only part of their story. I first interviewed Wilkerson and Viges in 2007 and then revisited with them this fall, and I met Goodell in October. Some updates on their lives: Viges, on disability for PTSD, is studying massage therapy with help from the GI Bill. He plans to move to Jamaica and work as a masseur upon graduation. Wilkerson went to college and currently teaches in a private school in Taiwan. Goodell wrote a memoir, “Shade It Black”, about her service in Iraq. She is studying for a doctorate in psychology and is interning with the local Veterans Administration, where she plans to counsel people with PTSD.
By: Lori Grinker Some of the war images from this video may be too graphic for some viewers. Photojournalist Lori Grinker profiled three former U.S. service members suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. The video, which features Hart Viges, Mark Wilkerson and Jessica Goodell telling their stories in their own words, was produced by Grinker for the Dart Society, an association of journalists who cover violence. The audio inconsistencies are due to the differing locations and modes of interviewing, including Skype. Hart Viges, Mark Wilkerson and Jessica Goodell all volunteered for the military. They all chose to go to war, and they have all suffered from PTSD. But none of them fully recognized it until after they were home. The war’s smells and sounds, and the reflexes they developed to survive in Iraq stayed with them in their home life. People experience trauma in different ways, and in some cases their backgrounds can come into play. Viges hailed from a family of veterans who valued military service. Wilkerson, also from a military family, was deeply affected as a young child by seeing his mother being beaten. Goodell believed “real” Marines were the ones who experienced combat. This multimedia essay is only part of their story. I first interviewed Wilkerson and Viges in 2007 and then revisited with them this fall, and I met Goodell in October. Some updates on their lives: Viges, on disability for PTSD, is studying massage therapy with help from the GI Bill. He plans to move to Jamaica and work as a masseur upon graduation. Wilkerson went to college and currently teaches in a private school in Taiwan. Goodell wrote a memoir, “Shade It Black”, about her service in Iraq. She is studying for a doctorate in psychology and is interning with the local Veterans Administration, where she plans to counsel people with PTSD.
