Unlike previous conflicts, Vietnam was an unpopular war that provided little meaning or social approval for the soldier. While Vietnam-related PTSD was, and is, a reaction to the extreme stress many soldiers faced during that war, it is also a reaction to the events that followed, such as the lack of support they encountered after coming home. Hence, after these soldiers faced the violence and death of war, homecoming was less than a hero's welcome, punctuated more by social ridicule than by praise or even acceptance. If you can, please, take a few moments and listen to their description of their symptoms. Even if they say very little, you have shown a rare form of respect which may enable them to begin to trust you enough to tell you more later, or to accept your regimen. Your careful and respectful attention to their medical evaluation and care means far more than any attempt to sympathize, apologize or attempt to argue them out of a sense of past injustices and future distrust.