"My Journey Through Hell: A Marine’s Battle With Combat Trauma" Author David W Powell: Book Review

My Journey Through Hell: A Marine’s Battle With Combat Trauma

David W. Powell

Modern History Press, an imprint of Loving Healing Press (2006)

ISBN 1932690220

“My Tour in Hell” is the first book in “The Reflections of History Series”. It is a very powerfully written autobiography by David W. Powell about his horrific experiences while serving in Vietnam and how his life changed drastically upon his return to the United States. The horrors that Powell had to endure while in Vietnam caused him to experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As a result of this disorder, he is unable to maintain stable employment, healthy relationships, and has difficulties with his emotions. The disorder also affects his ability to sleep and traps him in a state of hypervigilance.

Powell delves into what he lived through in Vietnam. He makes himself vulnerable to his readers by writing about his reactions to the situations he encountered. He has to deal with his own reactions when he kills. He also has to deal with comrades abandoning him while he is under enemy attack. He sees people shot, raped, or killed for no reason. He learns to keep his mouth shut as he watches supposedly honorable soldiers commit these crimes. He watches as the soldiers intentionally insult each other as a way to get out of the army. These same men receive Purple Hearts because they were injured in the war. There are images included, which make the people he was involved with more real. There are also some gruesome photos of war victims. These are hard to swallow, but they show the reader that these people really existed.

When Powell returns home, his life is a mess. His marriage ends. He cannot maintain relations with his children. He goes from job to job. He discovers that he has become obsolete because his computer programming experience is two years out of date. His self-esteem suffers and due to his experiences he has difficulty receiving orders from his superiors. Along the way, Powell learns about a technique called “Traumatic Incident Reduction” (TIR) ​​and is able to use the techniques to free himself from the symptoms of PTSD.

I highly recommend this book for people who are experiencing PTSD or are close to someone who has it. I think rehabilitation counselors who work with military veterans would also benefit from reading this because it will give them a greater understanding of what these veterans have been through. War veterans will also gain something from reading this book because they will discover that they are not alone in dealing with the trauma created by their experiences.

I asked a disabled Navy veteran if I should share this book with my nephew while he is in Iraq. He wasn’t sure if it would be too much for him to read while he’s engaged in combat. The Marine felt that it would be good for him because he talks about the problems and symptoms that he might be experiencing and, more importantly, how to treat them. “My Tour in Hell” shows that there is hope for people suffering from PTSD.

“My Tour in Hell” has been nominated for the 2007 Charles E. Shelton Award for Unique Literary Achievement. This award honors our nation’s most famous and brave prisoner of war, shot down in Vietnam and never returned.