Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/boundvolumes/558bv.pdf
Page Number: 196

Cite as: 558 U. S. 30 (2009) 

35 

Per Curiam 

geants, and almost all of the ofﬁcers were wounded.  Porter 
was again wounded, and his company sustained the heaviest 
losses of any troops in the battle, with more than 50% casual­
ties.  Colonel  Pratt  testiﬁed  that  these  battles  were  “very 
trying,  horrifying  experiences,”  particularly  for  Porter’s 
company  at  Chip’yong-ni.  Id.,  at  152.  Porter’s  unit  was 
awarded  the  Presidential  Unit  Citation  for  the  engagement 
at  Chip’yong-ni,  and  Porter  individually  received  two  Pur­
ple  Hearts  and  the  Combat  Infantryman  Badge,  along  with 
other decorations. 

Colonel  Pratt  testiﬁed  that  Porter  went  absent  without 
leave  (AWOL)  for  two  periods  while  in  Korea.  He  ex­
plained  that  this  was  not  uncommon,  as  soldiers  sometimes 
became disoriented and separated from the unit, and that the 
commander  had  decided  not  to  impose  any  punishment  for 
the  absences.  In  Colonel  Pratt’s  experience,  an  “awful  lot 
of  [veterans]  come  back  nervous  wrecks.  Our  [veterans’] 
hospitals today are ﬁlled with people mentally trying to sur­
vive the perils and hardships [of] . . . the Korean War,” par­
ticularly  those  who  fought  in  the  battles  he  described.  Id., 
at 153. 

When  Porter  returned  to  the  United  States,  he  went 
AWOL  for  an  extended  period  of  time.3  He  was  sentenced 
to  six  months’  imprisonment  for  that  infraction,  but  he  re­
ceived an  honorable discharge.  After  his discharge,  he suf­
fered  dreadful  nightmares  and  would  attempt  to  climb  his 
bedroom  walls  with  knives  at  night.4  Porter’s  family  even­

3 Porter  explained  to  one  of  the  doctors  who  examined  him  for  compe­
tency  to  stand  trial  that  he  went  AWOL  in  order  to  spend  time  with  his 
son.  Record 904. 

4 Porter’s  expert  testiﬁed  that  these  symptoms  would  “easily”  warrant 
a  diagnosis  of  posttraumatic  stress  disorder  (PTSD).  2  Tr.  233  (Jan.  5, 
1996).  PTSD  is  not  uncommon  among  veterans  returning  from  combat. 
See  Hearing  on  Fiscal  Year  2010  Budget  for  Veterans’  Programs  before 
the  Senate  Committee  on  Veterans’  Affairs,  111th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  63 
(2009) (uncorrected copy) (testimony of Eric K. Shinseki, Secretary of Vet­