ATLANTA, Georgia鈥擫ast 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:聽Memoir of an American Combat Veteran.
The author,聽Vietnam Army veteran,聽Eldson J. McGhee, will discuss the impact living with PTSD has had on his life.
In 1968 McGhee聽returned to the U.S. a decorated Vietnam soldier diagnosed with 鈥渃ombat fatigue.鈥� Because of the condition, he was unable to function in society as he once had. At his mother鈥檚 insistence, he sought out help at the Veterans Administration (VA); he is told he does not have a combat-related condition.
McGhee鈥檚 life is marred with troubled marriages, heroin addiction, and bank robberies culminating in聽a life imprisonment sentence without the possibility of parole. His story entitled *鈥淭he Private War of Eldson McGhee鈥� is featured inEssence Magazine.
McGhee鈥檚 exemplary behavior warrants an early release from prison. He is given an opportunity to participate in the VA鈥檚 Comprehensive Work Therapy Program. Yet, McGhee is a vet who has not been successfully treated for PTSD鈥撀璦n incident occurs at the VA that alters his life forever鈥�.
As reported in聽USA聽Today, 鈥�Mental health disorders caused more hospitalizations among U.S. troops聽in 2009 than any other reason, according to medical data released recently by the Pentagon.鈥�
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:聽reedyb@bellsouth.net .