Bridging Disciplinary Boundaries (January 11 - 14, 2007)

The purpose of this study was to identify trauma symptoms experienced by World War II combat veterans as well as coping strategies that these veterans found to be helpful during the war, post-war, and in their later years. The research was conducted as a qualitative study using the grounded theory tradition of inquiry. In addition to transcriptions of 27 individual interviews and 2 focus groups, the researcher utilized field notes, autobiographic videotapes, memoirs, journals kept by the veterans, personal correspondence, photos, war documents, memoing, and historical documentaries for triangulation purposes and to help detail the theory. Systematic coding procedures were used in the data analysis. Ideas about emerging categories were recorded in memos and modified as theoretical understanding grew. The killing, wounding, torture as a prisoner of war, destroying, racial inequality, ethnic discrimination, and need to follow military orders that sometimes jeopardized the lives of comrades and shipmates were major violations of values that the men held dearly. These dehumanizing aspects of combat resulted in feelings of lack of control, fear, anger, grief, loss, pain, and repression. Important humanizing factors that contributed to endurance included camaraderie, family, spirituality, and humor. Many of the veterans in the study were lifelong men of faith or believers in the existence of a supernatural power greater than themselves. Some carried a small Bible in combat and many attributed their survival to prayer and protection by God. Though many men believed that their lives were spared by God, some expressed bewilderment and/or anger that a supreme being would allow the butchery of war and the burden of racism to exist. For Navajo respondents in the study, one form of spirituality was tribal cleansing ceremonies. The desired outcome of the research for social workers was to raise awareness about the potential of encountering combat-affiliated trauma responses lifelong and to enhance the care provided to combat veterans and other trauma survivors. For many of the men in this study, spirituality was an effective strategy for coping with combat trauma. Findings from the research emphasize the importance of addressing the spiritual dimension of veterans' lives in social work practice.