Death of Love
Over this last week we have finished reading Since You Went Away which is a composition of letters from women such as wives, lovers, and mothers to soldiers fighting in World War II. The book covers many topics but I feel one topic is avoided. All throughout the book I was expecting at least a letter or two of wives leaving their husbands or girlfriends breaking up with their boyfriends while away at the war. It made me wonder whether this was a conscious effort by the editors of the book. It is very possible that letters such as these did not stand the test of time because the keepsake value of such sad memories were not worth holding on to leading to the letters destruction. In fact, the only way this book even begins to tackle the subject is the death of love through death itself or telling of divorces in the summary of the writer’s life following each set of letters.
With the stress that war puts on a marriage, it would not be surprising for divorce to be more common among veterans or people on active duty. Adding the prevalence of PTSD into the mix creates a stressful situation even when the tough time of separation is over. In an Associated Press article entitled Army: Soldiers’ morale is down in Afghanistan, surveys found that
• Junior enlisted soldiers reported significantly more marital problems than noncommissioned officers, stating they intended to get a divorce or that they suspected their spouses back home of infidelity.
• Troops in their third or fourth deployments reported significantly more acute stress and other psychological problems, and among those married, reported significantly more marital problems compared to soldiers on their first or second deployments.
Aside from this article, there seems to be a lack of information on the topic. Perhaps this survey is just the beginning red flag of a problem in the fetal stage as soldiers experience more and more tours of duty. It is definitely a problem that needs to be watched and studied because these veterans returning home need all the help and support they can get while trying to reassimilate into the life of a civilian.
