title: World War II never ended in my house: interviews of 12 Office of Strategic Services veterans of wartime espionage on the 50th anniversary of WW II.
abstract: The author conducted sociological interviews of 12 OSS spies (7 male, 5 female) who were operatives in France during World War II (WW II). The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) existed from 1941 to 1945 and was later renamed the CIA in 1947. This paper includes family studies of six close relatives of OSS vets and observation of 400 OSS veterans at the 50th anniversary of WW II. Three of the 12 OSS veterans who had been tortured by the Gestapo still suffered from PTSD-startle symptoms after 50 years; those three also suffered massive strokes in later life. The majority of OSS vets, regardless of gender, exhibited "war excitement" when talking about the war 50 years later. Most saw the war as the highpoint of their lives. War excitement needs more careful study within PTSD circles.
authors.affiliation: New York University-SCPS Division, 726 Broadway, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10012, USA. susan.cavin@nyu.edu
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cavin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*; D014857:Warfare