Let There Be Light Page #5

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But you remember who you are

now.

Who are you?

Dali.

Dali, that's right.

Full name now.

Dominic Dali.

Dominic Dali, that's right.

Know your mother's name?

Isabel.

That's right.

Father's?

Salvatore.

That's fine.

You know who they all are now.

All right, now you're coming

back with us.

This is going to stay with you.

You're going to remember it all.

You're going to remember about

Okinawa.

You're going to remember about

the shells and the bombs,

but they're gone.

You're at ease, you're relaxed.

There's no fear, no anxiety.

When I wake you up, you'll be

comfortable, relaxed,

no pains, and no aches.

But you'll remember all that

I've told you,

all that you've remembered.

You can wake now.

Well, how are you?

Pretty good.

Under the guidance of

the psychiatrist,

he is able to regard his

experience

in its true perspective as a

thing of the past,

which no longer threatens his

safety.

Now he can remember.

Well, Hofmeister, what's

your trouble?

It's hard

for me to get my words out.

Yeah, it does seem to be a

bit tough.

How long have you had that

trouble?

It started

about a month ago.

Where were you then?

I was in France.

You were in France.

Have you been in combat?

Yes.

Well, maybe we can help you

talk a bit better,

and you can tell me more about

it then, right?

Let's lie down and see if we

can't help you on that.

This man is not a

chronic stutterer.

He suffers from a battle tension

which the drug will attempt to

diminish.

Like the man who could not walk

and the man who could not

remember,

his illness has an emotional

basis.

Get all comfortable now,

and relaxed.

We're just going to give you

some medicine here,

and it's going to help limber up

that tongue of yours.

And this is going to make you

feel a bit groggy.

Well, now, tell me now, how do

you feel now?

Make any difference in your

feeling?

Boy, and how.

It's just like seventh heaven.

What is it?

Tell me about it.

Boy, I can talk.

That's fine, isn't it?

I can talk!

I can talk!

That's good, boy.

Listen, I can talk!

Oh, God, listen, I can talk!

Holy Mother of God, listen!

All right, it's coming back

now.

Take it easy.

Oh, listen, I can talk!

Just the way you always

did, isn't that right?

Listen.

Oh, God, I can talk.

Just the way you always

did, Hofmeister.

Why don't you try going with it

now?

Oh, nice!

Let's take it easy now.

Just talk just a little lightly

now.

Tell me, got any idea why you

couldn't talk before?

What's coming to your mind now?

Tell me, what's coming to your

mind now?

What is it in your mind when you

couldn't talk?

What is it that stopped it?

Something came through there and

stopped it.

What is it, now?

Think quickly, think deeply.

Let's go back.

When was it you lost your

speech,

had your trouble talking?

Go back quickly.

Seems that I first

noticed it on a boat.

On a boat.

Going over.

It first started with an S.

And the fellows laughed at me.

I don't know why they laughed,

until the guy started...

Well, let's start with that

S.

Let's go back to that S now.

What were you thinking then?

What was in your mind then?

Right now?

No, then.

On the boat?

Yes, with that S.

When you couldn't say S right.

S.

The port side.

Port side.

Port side.

Port side of the ship.

What side's that?

That would be the left

side.

Left side, that's right.

Yeah, I remember it.

Because we were out

there that afternoon,

and we saw the fishes.

And we had some flying fishes.

And I came down, and I said...

I was telling the fellow

underneath me about the port...

that I had seen some flying

fishes on the port side.

He tried telling them

about the flying fishes,

and he stumbled over the S

sound.

And the fellows laughed at him.

Think hard, S, S.

What does S remind him of?

S, S.

He remembers-- it is a sound he

fears.

A sound of death in combat.

The sound of a German 88 high

explosive shell coming in.

Now it is possible to proceed

to the basic method of

psychiatric treatment--

discussion and understanding

of the underlying causes of his

symptom.

As the weeks pass, the therapy

begins to show its effect.

The shock and stress of war are

starting to wear off.

For these men are blessed

with the naturally regenerative

powers of youth.

Now they are living less in the

past and more in the present.

Sometimes they think of the

future.

The war years must be put aside,

and the responsibilities of

peace must be considered.

A man might open a filling

station, or a hardware store.

Or he can buy a few acres of

land and raise some chickens.

He might even go back to school.

Visitors day.

Now the men resume their contact

with the world outside.

These are the people they are

coming back to,

whose lives are bound up with

theirs.

Without their understanding,

all that has been accomplished

in the last few weeks

can be torn down.

With it, their return to life

can be doubly swift and sure.

Classes in group psychotherapy

continue.

The men are thinking of

themselves

in relation to society.

How will they fit into the

postwar pattern?

How will the world receive them?

You fellows have had an

opportunity

to be home with your families

since you've returned from

overseas.

Have you noticed any change

in the various members of your

family toward you,

and their reactions toward you?

Well, I found out after

four years of absence

that it only took me the second

day to be really relaxed,

and I was right chummy again

with my dad,

and we talked about the old

neighborhood

and the new changes.

I don't know.

It surprised me.

Do you feel that your

family has to be taught

how to treat you when you come

back?

No, absolutely not.

How do you want to be

treated by family?

The same I was treated

before I went into the service,

no different.

You don't want to be

treated any differently?

No.

I was talking to one man, and I

said,

"What do you think of us fellows

that come back

with Psychoneurosis Anxiety

State?"

And I says, "You can see that

we're not crazy, by any means."

And he says, "Well, before I

came out here to see you,"

he says, "my first impression

was like in Bellevue."

He said, "The fellows from the

last war there

are completely maniacs."

He said, "That was my first

impression."

And I'm wondering if, I mean,

the great percentage of the

people are going to be like that

when we get out.

That is a common concern

among servicemen who have

developed nervous conditions

during their stay in the Army,

as to what the public is going

to think about them.

Undoubtedly there will be people

on the outside

who won't have any understanding

of the condition,

who may think of it as being a

rather shameful condition.

That's why we're having an

educational program,

trying to education the public

into understanding.

Unfortunately, most of you

fellows

have gone through some very

severe stresses in the army,

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