Page 171 - JSOM Summer 2022

What Have We Done

The Moral Injury of Our Longest Wars

Wood D. What Have We Done: The Moral Injury of Our Longest Wars. Little, Brown Spark (November 1, 2016); 304 pages;
ISBN 978-0-316-26414-3
Reviewed by Scott P. Graverson, PhD

n recent years, US military services have worked when the enemy sends a young child, say 12 years old
hard to remove the stigma of mental illness from or younger, out with an RPG, and they aim that weapon
Iour troops who have experienced emotional trauma. at a convoy. The Soldier who disengages that child’s
Much of the discussion surrounding the trauma expe- life now must deal with the potential reality of return-
rienced by our Soldiers is about posttraumatic stress ing home to their young child and wondering how they
disorder (PTSD). “Post-traumatic stress dis- can be a good parent.
order is biology; it’s the body’s involuntary
physical reaction as we relive the intense David Wood is a veteran war reporter
fear of a life-threatening event and the who won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for na-
scalding emotional responses that follow: tional reporting on wounded warriors. A
terror and a debilitating sense of helpless- Quaker by birthright, David is a pacifist
p15
ness.” While moral injury and PTSD can and was granted conscientious objector
occur at the same time, moral injury occurs status during the Vietnam war; however,
“when a person has time to reflect on a his sense of duty to this country led him
traumatic experience,” and our wartime to a career as a journalist embedded with
p16
actions conflict with our moral upbring- combat teams, first in Vietnam and later
ing. “A moral injury is a self-accusation, reporting on conflicts in Europe, Africa,
prompted by something you did, some- Asia, Central America, culminating in Iraq
thing you failed to do, or something done to you.” p18 and Afghanistan. As a reporter for the Huffington Post,
David embedded with the First Battalion, Sixth Marine
Every society and religion has tenets that teach us that Regiment (the 1/6), Charlie Company, Second Platoon
killing is wrong and that killing a child is especially in Afghanistan, where he became more than just an
heinous; however, in a combat zone, killing enemy embedded reporter; he became part of the unit and
combatants is required for the survival of every team continued that fraternity well past the deployment.
member. The reaction to defend one’s comrades must Through his research for the book, David met with
be instantaneous; failing to do so will likely end in trag- numerous Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines who
edy. The moral injury to our combat troops compounds reluctantly shared parts of their stories for publication.

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