New book on the impact of war

THE effects of war may never be truly understood; however, local author and journalist Dianne Dempsey is doing her best to uncover the phycological impact of global conflict on veterans and their families.

In her latest book When He Came Home, Dempsey provides an insight to how many Vietnam War veterans suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, the impact this had on partners and children and how there is still a lot of work to do to fully support returned soldiers.

“In the first World War it was called shellshock, in the second world war it was sometimes called combat fatigue, then along comes the Vietnam War and they send these young men off to war and they do not look at their psychological health when they come home.”

Through interviews and first-hand recounts, Dempsey provides an insight into how the wives and partners dealt with their husbands widely unknown conditions.

“I interview women who had lived with Vietnam veterans and the stories they tell are incredibly sad and they’ve lived very lonely lives,” she said.

“These men typically can’t socialise comfortably, they’re difficult to live with, the women blame themselves and they hung around, they looked after the blokes and their kids, and they paid a great price in terms of their own mental health.”

Dempsey said the government support is lacking for today’s soldiers and she hopes the recently announced Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide will provide some hope for families.

In her book, Demspey interviewed Julie-Ann Finney, whose son David committed suicide in 2019 after two decades in the Navy.

Ms Finney has been who has been lobbying the government ever since, with the Federal Government finally announcing a royal commission earlier this year.

“She’s obviously heartbroken,” Dempsey said. “And she said I’m not going to let this happen to anyone else, with my grief I will try and change the world.”

With over 18,000 Australian veterans on PTSD compensation, and over 400 veteran suicide cases since 2019, Dempsey said she hopes support for veterans improves.

“This isn’t a book about blaming them, it’s really looking at the consequences of war and governments very happily sending off young men, politicians sit in parliament and send them off,” she said.

“If they’re going to do that they have to look after them when they come back home.”

When He Came Home is available to purchase via Bendigo Dymocks.