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"They were gonna say, ""What did you do to entice him?""

Nina Whittam (US Air Force, 1953 - 1954) talks about why she didn't ask for help with her PTSD right away.

Transcript

Well, you know, we're talking about during the Korean War.

Come on, who's going to believe a woman?

They're going to say, "Well, what did you do to entice him?"

I know what they'd say,

and no, that's why I never went to anyone.

I kept it inside for a long time

until I finally talked to that psychologist here,

in San Diego, I think her office is down in the Valley.

And she was really nice.

I trusted her, I believed in her, and I think that's when part of

the pain started going away.

Because I felt like the Air Force was the best thing

that ever happened to me,

until that happened, and that was the worst.

But I wasn't going to go to someone and squeal on him

because they wouldn't believe me.

I knew they wouldn't.

How many women do you know in the Air Force

back during the Korean era that...

I don't know, they told me that's

why they let me join the military, was to take care of them.

I sure didn't know that.

I'd have never went in the military.

I can get that kind of harassment on the outside.

I went in the military to get away from that,

thinking I'd be protected, but I wasn't.

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