Karin Olson

Posted to Facebook 5/25/2019

Memorial Day is this coming Monday, the last Monday in the month of May. May is also Mental Health Awareness Month. This post is about both, Memorial Day & Mental Health.

Memorial Day is a day to remember those lost during an armed conflict. My father was in an armed conflict – WWII. He enlisted in the Army in 1941, and he spent just over 3-1/2 years in the Pacific where he came down with malaria. Part of his time in the Pacific was on Iwo Jima. He was honorably discharged near the end of 1945.

My dad didn’t die during an armed conflict, but I believe that he started to die a little bit during the war. My dad's slow death continued after the war and accelerated during the summer of 1956 when he had a nervous breakdown. In June 1956, my father became ill and the doctor was called to our flat. I remember that day clearly. My dad then spent about one month in a mental hospital in Chicago. During that time he had electric shock therapy and who knows what else. Knowing what we know today, my father likely suffered from PTSD. Back then it was, I think, called shell shock but I’m not sure that was even on our radar in 1956.

My dad was a gentle soul, and no doubt war takes its toll on such a person. His “nervous breakdown” was the beginning of his end, and his slow death entered a new phase. He was no longer the man he was, and his mental illness continued throughout his life. Some days were better than others but the illness always hovered in the background

With the exception of a Christmas job at the post office, I don’t think he was able to work again. His wife, my mom, left the family in 1957. That left me, my father, and my grandfather. Gramps supported our broken family to the best of his ability. My dad’s actions got the family evicted from two apartments. I lived with the family the first time it happened.

As a teen I was embarrassed by my dad’s appearance and his actions, but I have since realized he couldn’t help himself. I know that, in spite of his condition, he was a good soul. He was smart and well read. He was kind and loved animals.

So, today is a day of remembrance. My heart breaks for all who passed while serving their country. My heart breaks for all that my father lost, and my heart breaks for the broken souls who die a little bit every day due to their mental illness as a result of an armed conflict.

Robert H Olson