Missing Marine May Have Had PTSD Triggered By Playing Call Of Duty

Surely most people out there have seen at least one of the Rambo movies. Basically, you've got a Vietnam war vet that's been through hell and comes home to a country that (mostly) looks down upon those that fought in Vietnam. Between the experiences in battle and the harsh treatment at home, he developed a very severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder and goes on a rampage. Why the pop culture lesson? I was reminded of the movie after reading about a missing gamer and former Marine from Florida.

I should note that Eric Hall hasn't gone on any kind of killing rampage like Rambo (and it's not suspected that he would) but his story made me think of the 80's flick. He was badly injured and his best friend killed during a battle in Iraq. He's now missing from his home and it is suspected that while playing Call of Duty (likely COD4) it triggered unpleasant memories and worsened his post-traumatic stress disorder. His friends and family have organized a search, and suspect that he may be living off the land.

This is one of those cases where unfortunately a video game did cause an unwanted reaction. You can't really blame the game, as it was likely a risk for him to be playing something like that in the first place. Perhaps he (and others) thought that by playing the game he could somehow attain closure with the events that happened overseas. Either way, it's an unfortunate event and we hope that he is found safe and sound.

[via GamePolitics]