Having suffered a shrapnel wound to the head, Sergeant Joe Martin was told by a pride of doctors that the wound had affected that region of his brain that processes language. He spent a good deal of time in military hospitals trying to regain his lost ability to communicate, as he articulated clearly in the attached article:
"The next day an officer came over and to me and and placed an assortment of articles on my bed. There was a hammer, a pencil, a key, a button, a comb and a pair of scissors. He pointed to the hammer and asked me what it was. The nearest I could get to its correct name was 'hammock'. He went down the line pointing to each article, asking me to name it. I messed them all up. I became so angry with myself and burst forth with a barrage of profanity that showed not trace of Aphasia."
CLICK HERE... to read one man's account of his struggle with shell shock...