Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau (pictured above) was recognized for his portrayal of the adjustment challenges faced by American soldiers and marines returning from combat experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. B.D., one of the central characters in the long-running comic strip, went to war and lost his leg in combat. Trudeau chronicles B.D.'s efforts to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other problems that American veterans face.

(Click here and here for stories on the real-life local PTSD fallout from the Iraq and Afghan wars.)

Trudeau, a Branford resident, accepted the Mental Health Research Advocacy Award "in recognition of the substantial public impact of his remarkable and moving portrayal of the adjustment challenges faced by American soldiers and marines returning from combat experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan." The large and enthusiastic audience gathered in the medical school auditorium gave him an extended standing ovation.

Trudeau explained that he felt it was important to address the psychological wounds of war, to cleanse them by exposing them to the light of public awareness. He also said, "It makes me a little uneasy to be recognized for what other people are living and enduring, often with astonishing courage."

Trudeau took the initiative to talk with many vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan about their experiences, and incorporated some of what he learned into the comic strip. The strip began in 1968 in the Yale Daily News (under the name "Bull's Tales") and which is now carried by 1,400 newspapers worldwide.

He said the first veteran he spoke with was a young woman who had her arm blown off and was deeply grateful when her comrades found it in order to retrieve her engagement ring. Click here to hear the story. He said it was a tale of gratitude, "but of course, what the story doesn't tell you is what kind of shape this woman might be in six months downstream when the effects of trauma are more likely to be expressed."

The award was presented by Dr. John Krystal, deputy chairman for research in the Department of Psychiatry, at the start of a half-day symposium, "Stress, Resilience and Recovery." He praised Trudeau for his ability to take serious subjects like depression, flashbacks, and divorce and inject them with compassionate humor.

He said it was surprising that in the previous 16 annual neuroscience symposia, the topic of PTSD had never been broached, but it finally made it onto the agenda this year. He said of the illness, "There's a sense of betrayal and isolation that comes from the impression that people are not listening to them and are not going to accept them after their experiences." He quoted Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, who wrote, "The victims suffered more profoundly from the indifference of the onlookers than from the brutality of the executioner."

Trudeau has also been honored by the military for his portrayals of war and its aftermath, most recently in 2006 when he won the U.S. Army Commander's Award.