The return home: Disability experiences of Second World War Veterans with amputations

After the Second World War, efforts to support Veterans who experienced traumatic injuries, including amputations, involved rehabilitation, devices, and employment supports. Oral histories can support an understanding of how these Veterans experienced disabilities and community reintegration. The purpose of this project was to address the research question, "How did Canadian Second World War Veterans with amputations experience disability from the time of amputation to 1995?"

A conventional inductive approach was used to analyze 11 transcripts from archival materials of interviews conducted in 1995. Participants were nine male Second World War Veterans with an amputation (four spouses also participated) and two widows of deceased Veterans with amputations.

Four main themes emerged: 1) support from Veterans' organizations as affecting reintegration, 2) challenges to and facilitators of community reintegration, 3) the impact of amputation on disability self-perception, and 4) the impact of amputation on aging processes.

Previous research suggests that the Second World War served as the impetus for rehabilitation therapy. Data from these interviews suggest that Canadian Veterans benefited from supports from Veterans' organizations, as well as government, but were also affected by stigma associated with their disabilities and shouldered much of the responsibility for successful reintegration.