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I was just falling asleep...and I yelled, "It's incoming!"

Albert M. Perna, US Army 1942 - 1945, talks about how he knew he had PTSD.

Transcript

Me and my wife were married then,

and we were on our way to Atlantic City.

Now, I was just falling asleep, just putting my head back

like that, and I was taking a little nap.

And you know how the trains, when the trains

go by one another so fast?

And this train come by and went "ch-ch-ch,"

and I yelled, "It's incoming!"

And I dropped, and I fell on the floor and covered my head,

and everybody looked at me, I was so embarrassed.

But it sounded like, that fast, that's what I mean,

something triggered me, the sound like it was an 88

or a shell coming in, and it scares the hell out of you.

So I just thought, I said, "It's incoming!"

And I dropped on the floor, and my wife, when everybody

on the train looked at me, I was so embarrassed.

But you know, they helped me to my seat again,

but again, the sweat started again, and my wife had to

take a couple of handkerchiefs out

and dry my face off a little bit.

But I was very embarrassed about that situation.

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