'Most veterans were either alcoholics or workaholics and I fitted into
the latter category' --Chris Cannin (6RAR, 1967; 7RAR, 1967-68). 'When I
look back and I see what I used to do ... there were a lot of things
wrong that I would never ever admit to at the time ... I thought I was
fine, but I wasn't' -- Alan Thornton (17 CONSTRUCTION SQUADRON,
1968-69). The medical and psychological legacies of the Vietnam War are
major and continuing issues for veterans, their families, and the
community, yet the facts about the impact of Agent Orange,
post-traumatic stress disorder, and other long-term health aspects are
little understood. The Long Shadow sets the record straight about the
health of Vietnam veterans and reveals a more detailed and complex
picture. Profiling the stories of the veterans themselves, this
comprehensive and authoritative book is a pioneering work of history on
the aftermath of war. It takes a broad approach to the medical legacies,
exploring the post-war experiences of Vietnam veterans, the evolution
and development of the repatriation system in the post-Vietnam decades
and the evolving medical understanding of veterans' health issues.
