On Friday 14th, my group and I (for the exception of Xavier who could not make it) met Paul Critchlow. He is the husband of Patricia McCormick, author of Purple Heart. He is also a veteran from the Vietnam War. The interview took place in the Coffee Bean. In the Interview he told us that he had previously suffered from PTSD, but with the help of the people around him he had overcome most of it. However, there are still some effects from PTSD. The interview went very well and we learned not only about PTSD as a whole but also about the experience of a veteran. I thought that one very interesting part of our interview was when Paul said “You have to respect the troops, even if you don’t respect the war.” This was when we were talking of the homecoming of Vietnam veterans. since this was a very unpopular war many people took out their anger on the troops by spitting on them or not treating them well. Although this interview went well I think for our next one I should ask more questions, and not only ask the ones planned but also ask questions as the interview goes on. I think our next step would be to try to talk to a PTSD doctor so that we can really understand the treatment for PTSD. Some centers we could look into are ABCT and the Sidran Institute.
