Book shares WW II hero’s battle with PTSD
Photo courtesy of Dr. Susan Daigneault
A NEW BOOK by author Dr. Susan Dahlgren Daigneault entitled “In the Shadow of a Mountain” tells the story of Daigneault’s father, World War II veteran Lt. Edward Dahlgren, recipient of the Medal of Honor. Here, Daigneault and Dahlgren are pictured during a trip a few years ago to Augusta where French government representatives gathered to honor the Mars Hill soldier’s heroic efforts in France during WW II to free the country of German occupation. Lt. Dahlgren, who was born in Perham and attended Caribou schools, died in 2006 at the age of 90.
The late Lt. Edward C. Dahlgren’s battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is the focus of a new book released earlier this winter by Sunbury Press entitled “In the Shadow of a Mountain: A Soldier’s Struggle With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.” Written by his daughter, Susan Dahlgren Daigneault, EdD, the publication relates the price paid by the Congressional Medal of Honor recipient and his family following his World War II heroics.
“My dad was one of a very few Maine men to receive the Medal of Honor for his service during WWII. He also was one of the many veterans who suffered in silence for years with the effects of PTSD,” said Daigneault.
She said by sharing her father’s struggles with the disorder she hoped other veterans might benefit.
“Given that so many of our veterans will also face a lifetime of suffering from PTSD, my book is very timely,” Daigneault said.
Dahlgren, also known as “Maine’s Sergeant York” — a reference to the movie about World War I Medal of Honor recipient Alvin York – was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry Truman in recognition of his heroics during the war in a ceremony in the East Room (of the White House) in August 1945. Daigneault’s work relates the price paid by the family during the years after.
“Because American troops are in far off places in this world, fighting for causes that sometimes cost them their lives, and because our veterans from World War II are a dying breed, it is entirely fitting that we save the stories of our veterans so that their experiences and their voices will never be forgotten and so that current generations might learn about the horrors of war and how the impact of battle never really goes away,” explained Daigneault.
“In the Shadow of a Mountain” tells the life story of Dahlgren, a member of the Texan 36th Infantry Division. It is a timely manuscript in that it details his struggles with PTSD, a condition affecting many of our military veterans returning from war zones today.
“It is a book that will help readers to know about the devastation of war and how we must always provide care and comfort for our returning veterans,” she said.
Despite coming home a hero, Dahlgren — like many other veterans — found himself haunted by the gruesome events of war. Daigneault said upon her father’s return, he lost 40 pounds, suffered from jaundice, stammered when he tried to talk and his hands “shook so badly he couldn’t hold a cup of coffee without spilling most of it on the counter or in his lap.”
“He suffered night terrors in which German soldiers came back from the dead and pointed their rifles at him. For decades, he suffered in silence until another war erupted and a name was given to his troubles: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,” said Daigneault.
“In the end, the way he lived his life was most definitely worthy of his having survived the horrors of his war. The way Dad lived his life provides lessons for all of us on how to live well, even while struggling to do so,” said Daigneault.
Dahlgren died May 31, 2006 at the Maine Veterans Home in Caribou.
For more information, visit www.sunburypressstore.com/In-the-Shadow-of-a-Mountain-9781620061497.htm. The book is also available through Amazon, both hardcover and Kindle editions, at www.amazon.com/In-Shadow-Mountain-ebook/dp/B00A71V7LI.
