Same culture here for men of that generation who went to the war. Don't talk about it. Emphasise the good, de-emphasise the bad. That's how they coped. Those who didn't cope often went without any assistance at all and never talked about it, they just suffered silently. It strikes me more as a generational issue, and the advances made with psychology and therapy since the two world wars.
I've cared for WW2 vets at work and have seen the effect the war had on them. One man, at least, had to cry after there was a news report on the telly about the Iraq conflict, and one of the carers was spouting off about it. When I asked him what was wrong, all he could do was look at me and say "They don't know what war is". I couldn't answer him. He had been in Malaysia during the war and had visited Nagasaki afterwards. I could do nothing for him. And this was one of the more generally cheerful and lucid residents at work, who had no problem talking about his experiences. I think that there are moments for every former soldier when it becomes too fucking much.
In fact, the one US Vietnam vet I have met was pretty pleased to have been to that war. He had a denim vest with all the "Kill 'Em All" patches and the rest and was there to protest against an anti-Iraq war protest, holding up a big US flag. A friend's father was an Aus. veteran of the Vietnam conflict and he seemed pretty pleased about the whole affair as well. But that doesn't tell me that every soldier who was in Vietnam came back happy and satisfied.
In any case - people react to crisis and stress differently and there's no competition about it. The real issue with the shootings is the media coverage, and the fools who consume it like drugs. Fucking normal people love the misery of others and the media is only too happy to oblige.
