Moral injuries of war

Dr. Jack Saul, Dr. Peter Fraenkel, Jon Morris, Caitlin Chase, Elyse Blennerhasset, and Jonathan Fantini Porter • September 27, 2019

Over the past 18 years, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties and cost trillions of dollars. In such insurgency wars, the line between combatant and noncombatant is often blurred and inevitably leads to countless atrocities. Civilians pay the greatest price in loss of property, injury, and death.

It has become apparent that many soldiers, war correspondents, and other witnesses of these wars are troubled by their experiences and may suffer from moral injury, — the sense that one’s fundamental understanding of right and wrong has been violated. Such problems of conscience lead to intense feelings of grief, shame, and guilt and may contribute to the high number of suicides among U.S. veterans—more than 20 every day.

Moral Injuries of War is research project and immersive audio installation produced by The International Trauma Studies Program and The Windmill Factory. This installation gives voice to veterans and war correspondents who suffer from moral injury and engages the public in processes of compassionate listening, reflection and response, and committed action.