Evening star., 1945-08-06
NationC nCaughtNapping
On War Nerve Cases,
Psychiatrists Charge
Ry the Associated Press.

NEW YORK, Aug. 6. - Two of
Americas foremost military psy-
chiatrists, Doctors Edward A.
Strecker and Kenneth E. Appel, in
new book, "Psychiatry in Modern
Warfare" assert that the Nation
was caught mapping by the enor-
nous and unexpected number OF
neuropsychiatric cases of this war.
Many generations, they write,
"will have to pay for the huge
neuropsychiatric morbidity rate of
this war, if not in blood, certainly
in sweat, tears and money"
They estimate that half mil
lion men so far have been dis
charged for nervous disabilities.
The nervous battle casualties have
been one man in three, they say,
: compared with one in seven of the
last war.
< The cause of the increase is
declared to be the fact that in al
most every respect this has been
a tougher war.
Fumbling in Early Days.
DR.. Strecker is consultant for the
Secretary of War to the surgeons
general of the Army, the Army Air
Forces, the Navy and the United
States Public Health Service. He
was selected for this work on ad-
vice of the American Psychiatric
Association, of which he is a for
mer president. DR.. Appel lectures,
serves as an examiner, and as
visiting psychiatrist under the
auspices of the Rockefeller Found
alton.
The book declares there was
much fumbling in the early days
of the present conflict, both in
military and in psychiatric organ
izations, but that the present Or
ganizations. both in the Army, un-
der Col. william C. Menninger and
in the Navy under Capt. William F..
Kennedy and Comdr. Francis j..
Braceland, are doing excellent work.
The neuropsychiatric rejection
rate of inductees is much higher
in this war than in World War I,
IL per cent against 2 per cent. The
present war screening was more
carefully and efficiently done.
But this failed to reduce the
casualties. The authors do not think
this surprising increase means that
the present generation is softer.
Some of the rise, they state, may
be due to better diagnosis of mental
disabilities, but mostly is due to the
tough, worldwide nature of the
war.
No Increase in Psychoses.
There has not been, says the re-
port, any increase in psychoses. The
book points out that the word psy-
choneurosis does not mean insane
and declares that the man with
psychoneurosis is less dangerous
than the average man in the popu-
lation.
Flight surgeons, the authors say,
have done one of the most effective
jobs in psychiatry. They have the
advantage of living with their men.
The book quotes an unidentified
report as declaring that whereas
go per cent of the veterans who
need medical and surgical atten-
tion get it, only per cent of those
needing it receive psychiatric help.
There are" says the book. ZAP
proximately $4,000 physicians in
the United States and less than
5000 psychiatrists. There will in
evitably be a fanatic manpower
shortage in physicians equipped to
care for psychiatric conditions"
The authors appeal for the build
ing of veterans hospitals in the
center of large communities, close
to our best hospitals and medical
colleges.
"Out of sight, out of mind" they
state, soon applies to the suffer-
ings of our erstwhile heroes and
benefactors."