Veterans' Day, 2026
I am not a veteran of military service. But I strive to appreciate veterans, individually and collectively, and today is a day Americans do that together.
I write to recommend a book for others like me who are among the 99% of Americans who are not military veterans and who are willing, despite horror and discomfort, to learn some details and post-discharge burdens of service to, and in the name of, the United States.
The book is War Stories from the Forgotten Soldiers, by Edward W. Beal, M.D. (2019). Dr. Beal is a psychiatrist; Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine, and Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He was a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. In the 2010s, mostly by "telemedicine," Dr. Beal treated hundreds of returning soldiers - and, in this book, he tells stories that many, if not most, of them would not even tell their family members.
I did not know until I read this book that only about one percent of Americans now serve in military service. I recommend this book because I believe the other 99 percent of Americans should care about, and better understand, what military service to our nation - to every American - means physically, emotionally, mentally and socially.
Trigger alert: I omit snippets from the book because some of the most powerful are so horrifying that the citizen interest, support, and courage to which I appeal might fail.
I just conclude with some of the recommendations of War Stories from the Forgotten Soldiers by others (all affiliations are for identification only, not organizational endorsements).
"In his compelling book, Dr. Beal opens our eyes to the psychological aftermath of war. We certainly owe our men and women in uniform a great deal of gratitude for their sacrifices. But, equally as important, I believe we also owe them a greater understanding of what they face upon returning home." - The late Senator Robert Dole.
"Beal's book helps us understand the sacrifice of soldiers when we think about using force for 'national security reasons.' I recommend it as required reading for anyone who considers war a legitimate policy option to deal with perceived threats to national security." - Ambassador Robert L. Gallucci, Ph.D.; Former President, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; former Ass't Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs; Professor and former Dean of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.
"One of the many virtues of [War Stories from the Forgotten Soldiers] is that it moves beyond 'Thank you for your service' to the complexities of being or treating a Soldier or Marine in the Long War since 9/11." - Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, M.D., M.P.H., Colonel, U.S. Army (Ret.); Chair of Psychiatry, Medstar Washington Hospital
"In a word, [War Stories from the Forgotten Soldiers] is BRILLIANT. I have never read anything quite like it." - Robert Koffman, M.D., Capt., USN; former Director for Psychological Health to the Navy Surgeon General.
"I could not put it down. ... Here is a work every American should read, regardless of political persuasion, economic circumstance, race or culture. It's a rare, real and gripping book that will moisten your eyes and enlighten your mind." - John J. Engels, President, Leadership Coaching, Inc.
"'War and killing, guilt and grief are far too important not to be shared,' writes Dr. Edward Beal. In War Stories from the Forgotten Soldiers, Beal calls on each of us to listen, feel, care and reach out to the four million veterans who served our country these past twenty years. ... This book inspires us to heal in every way." - Ambassador Frederick D. Barton, Author of Peace Works; First Ass't Secretary of State for Conflict and Stabilization Operations; Past Co-Director, Scholars in the Nation's Service Initiative, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University.
