Let There Be Light Reel 2 (1945)

require special therapy hypnosis is often effective in certain types of battle Neurosis such as Amnesia this man does not even remember his own name a shell burst in okanawa wiped out his memory the experience was unendurable to his conscious mind which rejected it and along with it his entire past through hypnotic suggestion the psychiatrist will attempt to evoke them relax completely and uh put your mind on going to sleep all right now keep your eyes on mine keep your eyes on mine and keep them fixed on mind keep your mind entirely on falling asleep you're going to go into a deep sleep as we go in you're going to go into a deep sleep as we go in now clasp your hands in front of you clasp them tight tight tight tight tight they're getting tighter and Tighter and Tighter and as they get tighter you're falling asleep as they get tighter you're falling asleep your eyes are getting heavy heavy now your hands are locked tight you're locked tight they're locked tight you can't let go they're locked tight you can't let go when I snap my fingers you'll be able to let go when I snap my finger you'll be able to let go and then you'll get sleepier and your eyes are getting heavier now your eyes are getting heavier heavier heavier you're going into a deep deep sleep going to a deep deep sleep deep asleep far asleep s eyes now closed tight closed tight going to a deep deep sleep deeply relaxed far asleep you're far asleep you're far asleep now you're in a deep sleep you have no fear no anxiety no fear no anxiety now you're in a deep deep sleep now just sit down in the chair behind you sit down in the chair behind you lean back head now Falls forward into a deep deep sleep head now is falling forward you're going further and further and further asleep I stroke your left arm become rigid like a bar steel and you'll go further asleep and further asleep falling further and further and further asleep rigid cannot be bent or relaxed when I touch the top of your head I touch the top of your head that arm will relaxed and the other will become rigid you'll go further asleep you'll be in a very deep sleep and your sleep is deeper and deeper now when I touch this hand my finger will be hot I touch this hand my finger will be hot you will not be able to Bear it your arm is rigid and now as I touch your hand you will no longer feel any pain there it'll be normal now the arm is relaxed and you're further and further and further asleep now you're deep asleep we're going back we're going back now going back to okanawa going back to okanawa you can talk you can talk you can remember everything you can remember everything your back on Okala tell me what you see tell me speak I'm in The Battery area you're in The Battery area go on tell me what's going on getting fire missions you're getting fire missions go on you see everything now clearly getting shells thrown out of us you're getting shells thrown out of you from where Jabs Jabs go on yes keep on you remember it all now every bit of it coming back Jeff's getting near us to get our position Jeff's getting near you to get your position go on told us to get covered who told you to get covered BC BC go on there's father us one the boys got hurt one of the boys got hurt took him away I know my comption yes go on you remember it now tell me it's all right now but you can tell me you can tell me explosion yes you remember the explosion now all right go on they carrying me they're carrying you who's carrying you I don't know where are they taking you can cross the field cross the field go on put me in this stretch yes yes go on just go this the thr sh yes can you hear them yes you see them no all right where are they taking you now mhm why are you fearful now you don't want anymore you want to forget it but you're going to remember it because it's gone now it's gone you're back here now you're away from okanawa you've forgotten it but you remember who you are now who are [Music] you that's right full name now that's right you know your mother's name is that's right fathers so 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 we're going to remember about okanawa you're going to remember about the shells and the SS but they're gone at eased and 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 youve remembered you can wait [Music] now well how are you PR 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 what's your trouble need to get get my words words out yeah it does seem to be a bit tough how long have you had that trouble it started part of month month ago but where you then in uh France 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 it all comfortable now and relaxed we're just going to give you some medicine here and it's going to help limmer 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 [Music] now H make any difference in your family was just like seventh heaven what is it tell me about it what I can talk that's fine is I can talk I can talk that's good boy listen I can talk oh god listen I can talk oh there's nothing wrong oh god listen all right it's coming back now you're going to take it easy oh listen I can talk just the way you always did all right god listen God I can talk just the way you always did keep right on with it now that look nice let's take it easy now just talk just a little lightly now tell me you got any idea why you couldn't talk before what's coming to your mind now H 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 I I first noticed it on a boat com over I at first started with aness and the Fell's laughed at me I don't know why they laughed till the guy started well let's talk 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 that s right yes yes port side port side port side mhm port side of the ship what side's that that would be the left side left side that's right yeah I remember M of course we were up there that afternoon and we saw the fishes and we had some flying fishes I came down he said I was telling the fellow underneath me about the ports that I had seen some fly fishes on a port side mhm 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 the sound he fears the 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 natural 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 [Music] visitor's 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 post-war pattern how will the world receive them uh you Fells have had a an opportunity to be home with your family since you've returned from overseas have you noticed any change in the various members your family toward you and their reactions toward you what I found out that 4 years of absence it only took me the second day to be really relaxed and I right chumy again with my bad and talked about the old neighborhood and the new changes I I don't know it surprised me 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 a family the same uh I was treated before I went to the service no difference you don't want to be treated any different you know I was talking to one uh man and uh I said what do you think of us follows that come back with psychon Neurosis anxiety state and I says you can see that we're not uh Crazy by any means and he says well my before I come out here to see he says uh my first impression was like in Belle he said FS from the last war they're completely Maniacs he said that was my first impression I'm wondering if uh I mean uh the great percentage of the people are going to be like that when we get out that that is a common concern among uh servicemen who have developed nervous conditions during their stay in the Army uh 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 educate the public into understanding unfortunately most of you fellows have gone through some very severe stresses in the Army uh stresses that civilians are rarely subjected to in civilian life you can avoid serious stresses if a civilian the average civilian were subjected to similar stresses he undoubtedly would have developed the same type of nervous condition that most of you fellas developed all of us have our so-called breaking point and a survey outside showed that civilians on the whole were more nervous than soldiers on Park Avenue for instance where some of your richest people live most most of the patients are people who suffer from nervous disorders and if the doctor won't give them a pill why they'll go out and say well he's not a good doctor so therefore they're given pills and they take them at home they take these pills at home because the hospitals are too full if the hospit Hospital were empty they'd be in the sanitarium or so forth haven't uh been through n of these discussions like the other men have I know that we have learned uh the basis of how we've gotten nervous some of us uh through combat and some of us by not being in combat and I think and I'm sure that we have a better understanding of our conditions and I'm pretty grateful of being here at Mason General Hospital like a lot of Fells are I did so Happ as I couldn't walk and they made walk I couldn't walk when I arrived and I was here 24 hours and every walk I feel pretty grateful to getting my limbs back but that my driving that it's that uh I know that uh when I get out of here and the other fellas do too we're going to try our best to make ourselves uh as best we can and uh we feel more confident in the the grasp this nervous situation has come about us and we want to show people that we can do things on our own on the outside we've been in the hospital for nures or mental wherever we've been where we lost noral leg that we can be just as good as anybody else all I want is that they give us a chance to prove our equality like they said they were I hope they keep their promise that's all right will would you make it a point to tell your employer that you were a psychon neurotic well if he's an intelligent man which most well known employers are that own large concerns why he's going to react the same as any any other normal human being would he's going to say it's absolutely possible and the man right now looks all right I'll try him out but uh you may run into employers who are not that broad-minded or intelligent yes sir and I'll sell myself to them how about you do you have any plans about jobs or do you have any fears about getting a job or there what got my job waai for you have your job waiting for you I think it comes down to this doesn't it that uh most of you fell feel that you ought to be honest with your employer that you have nothing to hide nothing to be ashamed of isn't that the general attitude yes sir that's the way your time in the service was not entirely wasted you have learned a great deal in the service for instance a great many jobs and tasks that you've learned to do in the service that you have had absolutely no contact with in the past you've also learned to work in groups uh something that every Soldier learns to do very early in his military career this definitely will be of much value to you in your future civilan employment the weeks have slipped by fast the first strangeness of Hospital life has become routine sometimes a man learns something new the ranger always did want to play guitar [Music] n and now the days begin to seem long there's the old healthy sound of belly aching in the air spinach spinach again and how about a good movie for a change and how about putting some ice cream in the ice cream [Music] soda no longer is a man shut up within the lonely recesses of himself he is breaking out of his prison into life the life that lies ahead offering infinite possibilities for happiness and sorrow how does a man find happiness is there a secret to discover what is the mysterious ingredient that gives joy and meaning to living you know in the Bible where it says man does not live by bread alone children don't grow up well without safety and confidence if that wasn't in one's childhood in growing up you could say now there's something missing during all that time and the next question is how to supply it and it does need to be supplied not all of the learning in all of the books is half as valuable in getting over nervousness as to find someone that you esteem that you can learn to feel safe with where you can get a feeling of being accepted of cherished where you get a feeling that you are worthwhile and that you were important to something you could say the feeding that you didn't get that's something more than bread when you were little you still need to get it you still need to be fed with acceptance and to find the safety in other words knowledge alone is not [Music] [Applause] enough eight weeks have passed what about these men are they ready for discharge how complete is their [Music] recovery how about the boy in White Field I just didn't care what happened to me how about the kid at B was covered by dirt and I was covered up for 29 hours afterwards T found me [Music] here out out out how about the [Music] Empire get get my words words out out go on better up how about this kid how about him [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] are they well enough to be discharged that is for the doctors to decide of tomorrow's boarding the answer is yes men this is your last milary formation today you're returning to your homes your families and friends many of you have been looking forward eagerly to this day but remember that when you reenter civilian life on your shoulders Falls much of the responsibility for the postwar world may your lives as civilians be as worthy as your records as soldiers good health good fortune and God Speak [Music] la l for