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Blinded soldiers were retrained as craftsmen, but veterans with what would
now be called post-traumatic stress syndrome were harder to deal with. The British
medical authorities termed them “not yet diagnosed - nervous” and
many, in and out of the armed services, saw these soldiers as hysterical, malingering,
childish and feminine, or even worse, cowardly. The Canadian Expeditionary Forces’ brass
did not look kindly upon soldiers who were “neurasthenic” or “shell
shocked,” and they were offered only partial pensions, often amounting
to only a few dollars a week. Many veterans were reduced to poverty, depending
on the support of friends and family to feed their children.
The wounded extended beyond those injured by bullets, shells and gas. Some soldiers
returned only to suffer the effects of tuberculosis because of damaged lungs
and weakened bodies. Others fell victim to alcoholism and venereal disease while
awaiting demobilization in England. Canadians outdid the other Allies in the
venereal disease category, achieving the dubious distinction of a 16 per |
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cent infection rate. There were modest pensions for veterans and the
Patriotic Fund helped soldiers who returned “incapacitated by wounds, injuries
or disease,” but the pensions were small and Canada was not prepared for
the expense of supporting a generation of men with government funds. Most historians
agree that many veterans found Canadians unable to understand their experience.
In some ways their fellow citizens seemed almost ungrateful for the tremendous
sacrifices the soldiers had made “for King and Country.” |
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