The symptoms of Gulf War Syndrome—including fatigue, headaches, memory impairment, and joint pain—have been blamed on everything from nerve gas antidotes to depleted-uranium antitank shells. But a controversial study indicates that the condition is not unique to soldiers who fought in Kuwait and Iraq. Similar symptoms surfaced among veterans of many wars of the past century.
Edgar Jones, a medical historian at King's College in London, dug out the pension files of British soldiers who had fought in the Boer War, the first and second world wars, and the Gulf War. Then he randomly selected the files of 1,856 veterans whose medical records noted long-term physical disability. He found evidence of post-combat syndromes associated with all of the wars he surveyed. Although each one had unique features, their symptoms overlapped. Veterans of the Boer War and World War I, for example, suffered from a debility typified by fatigue, weakness, and ...
