Traumatized Entertainers

Environmental Risks

Civilian entertainment support of military personnel in war zones is not without risk. Glenn Miller, the famous swing bandleader, disappeared over the English Channel while traveling to entertain U.S. troops in France during World War II. His body has never been found. Cathy Wayne, an Australian singer and dancer, was shot and killed while onstage in Da Nang, South Vietnam, during the Vietnam War by a U.S. Marine.

Injured or killed civilians are excluded from wartime morbidity and mortality statistics. Similarly, indirect environmental factors specific to particular war zones are rarely documented. For civilians working in war zones, lack of privacy, environmental challenges, and long working hours contribute to unrelenting levels of stress, physical and mental ill health, and accidents resulting in death. These civilians are likely to witness war atrocities and be exposed to risk of personal safety when working on military bases; female entertainers may experience aggravated sexual exploitation and harassment. As part of their support effort, many civilian entertainers visit severely injured military personnel in hospitals and are exposed to physical illnesses that often develop following the demise of infrastructure and health facilities during war. Entertainers are at risk of psychological distress from exposure to war related events as well as any physical threat. Military protection is not always guaranteed, and they carry no weapons for self-protection. As a consequence, postwar adjustment and reintegration difficulties may result from war zone exposure in civilians similar to that seen in military personnel but for different reasons. The phenomenon of war and its psychological aftermath may differentially affect their lives for many years.

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