John Poeschl

"My father’s full name was John Carl Poeschl, born 11/23/1923, passed away in 2013.

He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota and was drafted into the navy in 1943 at the age of 20.  In the navy he was an Electrician’s Mate 3rd class (EM 3c (T).

He didn’t talk too much about his service but I think he might have developed some form of brain injury from the sinking of the ship.  He suffered from serious depressive episodes throughout his life, with lengthy hospital stays, medications and shock therapies.  From what I have read, “blast explosions may cause traumatic brain injury (TB) with injury magnitude depending on factors such as blast energy and distance from the epicenter.  PTSD can develop following exposure to a life-threatening event.”

Written by Julie Klauer

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