My Tour In Hell: A Marine's Battle with Combat Trauma (Reflections of History, Vol. 1)

David W. Powell enlisted for a tour of duty in April 1966 with the US Marines after receiving an imminent draft notice. Believing he would be able to leverage his existing skills as a computer programmer, he never thought all they would see on his resume was his Karate expertise. Even less that he would wind up serving as a Rocket man in the jungles of Da Nang and Chu Lai for a 13 month tour in hell.

David's journey from naive civilian to battle-hardened combat veteran shows us all how fragile our humanity really is. In addition to killing the enemy on the field of battle, he was witness to countless cruelties including murder both cold-blooded and casual, cowardice under fire, and a callous disregard for life beyond most people's imagination. With each new insult, he lost a little bit of his soul, clinging to his Bible as his only solace while equally certain of his own imminent demise.

Upon returning to civilian life after a two year enlistment, he found himself with nightmares during sleep, intrusive thoughts while awake, a hypervigilant stance combined with an exaggerated startle reaction, and a seeming inability to control basic emotions like anger and sadness.

The price he paid for what would only be diagnosed decades later as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was broken marriages and relationships, inability to hold down jobs leading to bankruptcy, alcohol abuse, and having to hide the service he willingly gave to his own country.

In 1989, David eventually recovered through a simple but powerful technique known as Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR) and is now symptom-free. Not just for veterans, TIR has since been successfully applied to crime and motor vehicle accident victims, domestic violence survivors, and even children. His story shows what is possible for anyone who has suffered traumatic stress and that hope, healing, and recovery can be theirs too.

What People Are Saying About My Tour In Hell

"His autobiographical work is a must read for veterans who remain stuck between two worlds. Healing is not forgetting; healing is making sense of the past in order to live life in the present with a restored hope for the future. Powell articulates this process very well and has given a tremendous gift to the combat veteran community of any generation."
- Father Philip G. Salois, M.S., National Chaplain, Vietnam Veterans of America

"The connection of David's problems in his current life and his Viet Nam experiences is one of the clearest descriptions of how trauma affects our lives I have ever read. My Tour in Hell is a tribute to David's unwillingness to give up on himself in the face of great unhappiness."
-Laura W. Groshong, LICSW (Seattle, WA)

"Years in combat zones, group psychotherapy with combat vets diagnosed with PTSD and TIR training qualifies me to recommend this book. Those in the helping professions will learn how the negative emotional 'charge' of trauma can be partially or totally eliminated through the adept facilitation of Traumatic Incident Reduction."
-Sister Kateri Koverman, LISW, ICDC

"Powell presents a brutally honest and riveting account of one man's descent into the dehumanizing realities of war. However, the journey is worth it to relive his dramatic ascension and redemption from the abyss through the life changing, powerful, and therapeutic techniques of Traumatic Incident Reduction."
- Rev. James W. Clifton, LCSW, PhD

More Than A Memoir, My Tour In Hell includes

Photos taken by David's own camera in 1966 Vietnam

Study guide for clinical students

FAQ from the National Center for PTSD

Foreword by Tom Joyce outlining the etiology of PTSD

Suggested Reading list

Learn more at www.MyTourInHell.com

What People Are Saying about My Tour in Hell "Powell describes his tour in Vietnam with the Marines in great detail which sets the stage for his personal journey home with all the painful memories and problems that surface with someone who has gone to hell and come back to tell about it. "His autobiographical work is a must read for veterans who remain stuck between two worlds—the physical reality of civilian life while the psychological, emotional and spiritual life remain on the battlefield half a world away. Healing is painful but so necessary to reintegrate those two worlds into one. Healing is not forgetting but healing is making sense of the past in order to live life in the present with a restored hope for the fu-ture. Powell articulates this process very well and has given a tremendous gift to the combat veteran community of any generation." Father Philip G. Salois, M.S. Founder, International Conference of War Veteran Ministers

(formerly the National Conference of Viet Nam Veteran Ministers) National Chaplain, Vietnam Veterans of America "The connection of David’s problems in his current life and his Viet Nam experiences is one of the clearest descriptions of how trauma affects our lives I have ever read. My Tour in Hell is a tribute to David's unwilling-ness to give up on himself in the face of great unhappiness."

—Laura W. Groshong, LICSW (Seattle, WA) "Years in combat zones, group psychotherapy with combat vets diag-nosed with PTSD and TIR training qualifies me to recommend this book. My Tour in Hell attests to David's journey from the boundary of a Marine grunt’s PTSD despair to the horizon of integration, risk, and new mean-ing. Those in the helping professions will learn how the negative emotional ‘charge’ of trauma can be partially or totally eliminated through the adept facilitation of Traumatic Incident Reduction."

—Sister Kateri Koverman, LISW, ICDC "Powell presents a brutally honest and riveting account of one man's descent into the dehumanizing realities of war. However, the journey is worth it to relive his dramatic ascension and redemption from the abyss through the life changing, powerful, and therapeutic techniques of Trau-matic Incident Reduction." — Rev. James W. Clifton, LCSW, PhD "Powell begins and ends with hope, and with a method that helped him to finally, and fully, resolve the many traumas he endured. He gives the reader a litany of incidents of trauma, and shows how the whole context of the battlefields, surrounding regions, and finally even home comes under the cloud of a hell many men and women shared with him, a hell that is being created many thousands of times in modern times. The book deserves to be read by therapists, veterans, and their loved ones."

—Rene Ely, M.Div., LMFT "My Tour in Hell is an insightful insider’s view of the traumatic events that occurred during the Vietnam War and the devastating after-effects that can follow. For those not familiar with the symptoms of PTSD, this was a vivid and clear view of how this disorder disrupts the lives of those who suffer from it untreated. Definitely a valuable read for anyone who works with this population or who have family or friends who are strug-gling with PTSD." —Kirsten Krohn, MFT "Not every ex-soldier suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. The ones who do are the sensitive, caring people exposed to the brutalizing conditions of war. David Powell is one of these people, as becomes obvi-ous to the reader of his book. With young men and women currently exposed to danger in the Mid-dle East, this veteran’s story is relevant to today. With utter honesty and integrity, he shows the terrible effects of war. However, his story ends on a high note, because Traumatic Incident Reduction has finally allowed him to cope with the consequences."

—Robert Rich, MSc, PhD, M.A.P.S., A.A.S.H. "David Powell’s book held my interest throughout the entire read. As a therapist working with US military, I was particularly intrigued by the therapeutic technique utilized and would love to have the opportunity for training. I was most impressed that the author did not present himself as totally recovered, but as functionally recovered with a new quality of life. I will definitely use the book with soldiers and family members."

—Sally Wright, LMFT (Baumholder, Germany) "This book provides a first-person account of how combat trauma evolves and is a testament to the power of Traumatic Incident Reduction. My Tour in Hell is an invaluable resource for working with combat trauma survivors."

—Judy Bronson, PhD, NCC "David’s story demonstrating how possible it is for anyone who has suffered traumatic stress to have healing and recovery vis-à-vis Traumatic Incident Reduction. We plan to start an ‘Adopt a Veteran’ program so any Vet who wants a copy of your book can have same."

—Mary Murphy, MA, NHA, Former VA and Prison Chaplain "My Tour In Hell is a riveting account of unimaginable pain, suffering, and healing. David Powell takes the reader step by step through his pain-ful metamorphosis from a young, idealistic recruit to an uncaring, angry trauma survivor, and finally to an inspiring, compassionate crusader. His message is one of hope and healing. Through the use of Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR), David is able to process and release the toxic memories of his tour in Vietnam. His story will challenge the belief that people cannot heal from horrific circumstances. TIR provides a gentle methodology for confronting traumatic images and then releasing them, enabling the user to move the memories into the past. One only wishes that he had encountered this treatment modality much earlier in life, be-ore suffering through the many years of broken relationships, lost jobs, and substance abuse." —Patricia Sherman, Ph.D. "My Tour in Hell is a wrenching book to read as the author bares his soul, revealing the gruesome details of his combat experiences and the personal aftermath as he struggled for decades to deal with the PTSD blighting his life. His final recovery through innovative therapy is a tri-umph and a new beginning. Read it to better understand the Vietnam Vet and the little support they got after their tour in Hell."

—Chuck Chriss, Olive-Drab.com