Section 2, Killing and Combat Trauma: The Role of Killing in Psychiatric Casualties: Chapter 8, The Blind Men and The Elephant Summary and Analysis

This chapter addresses the direct effect of having killed on those combat veterans who have suffered some mental injury. Most of them can be healed, but the duration of time required varies. The author makes it clear that his willingness to treat these "legalized perpetrators" with kindness does not mean that he does not respect the toll taken upon the victims. By becoming soldiers, they will change from being "virgins" in this respect into those who "know first hand." Often those who have killed suffer from guilt over having done so. The good news is that such difficulties can be corrected, but only when those...