Fear of Flying and the Intersections between Mental Health, Family, and Military Service during the Forgotten War

During the Korean War, the United States Air Force (USAF) faced an unexpected problem that challenged its ability to maintain an independent force. “Fear of Flying” (FOF) was a mental illness, like what we today know as Acute Stress Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, that affected new and experienced pilots alike. Traumatic events were not the only causes of FOF, however. Family responsibilities also caused psychological stress that culminated in airmen’s removal from flight status or discharge. One psychiatrist even grounded an airman for Fear of Flying after he experienced severe psychological distress and depression that arose “only after he had left his wife and child.”

While trauma and personal stress caused most cases of FOF, many men intentionally feigned FOF so that the Air Force would ground and discharge them. The military’s perpetual fear that men used psychological illness to get out of military duty came to pass, and FOF reinforced the Air Force’s belief that mental illness was a form of cowardice. The problem, though, was that these flyers claimed to suffer from FOF because they needed to fulfill family responsibilities—an honorable duty in Cold War America. In a period when the American government emphasized the importance of family life as a tool to combat Communism, the USAF had no choice but to discharge the men.

This paper, using archival documents ranging from medical records to statistical reports, examines the intersection between personal, family, and military responsibilities in American society. Psychological health became a new way to balance military and family life. Civilian duties affected the way people performed military duties, which, in turn, caused the Air Force to acquiesce to society’s standards. Fear of Flying, then, provides a new way to investigate psychological health’s impact on military service and family roles during the Cold War.