ATLANTA, Georgia—Last year Congress designated June 27th Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day (PTSD). This year Concerned Black Clergy of Atlanta will sponsor a panel discussion on the impact PTSD has had on military veterans, as well as active duty personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The event, held from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., will highlight the release of Short Changed: Memoir of an American Combat Veteran.
The author, Vietnam Army veteran, Eldson J. McGhee, will discuss the impact living with PTSD has had on his life.
In 1968 McGhee returned to the U.S. a decorated Vietnam soldier diagnosed with “combat fatigue.” Because of the condition, he was unable to function in society as he once had. At his mother’s insistence, he sought out help at the Veterans Administration (VA); he is told he does not have a combat-related condition.
McGhee’s life is marred with troubled marriages, heroin addiction, and bank robberies culminating in a life imprisonment sentence without the possibility of parole. His story entitled *“The Private War of Eldson McGhee” is featured inEssence Magazine.
McGhee’s exemplary behavior warrants an early release from prison. He is given an opportunity to participate in the VA’s Comprehensive Work Therapy Program. Yet, McGhee is a vet who has not been successfully treated for PTSD–an incident occurs at the VA that alters his life forever….
As reported in USA Today, “Mental health disorders caused more hospitalizations among U.S. troops in 2009 than any other reason, according to medical data released recently by the Pentagon.”
MEDIA: Author is available for interviews to discuss his book and the June 27th event. Review copies of his book are also available. Contact Betty Gunn, Tree Hugger Publishing at (404) 758-8905 or send an email to: reedyb@bellsouth.net .