How Did This Man Beat Extreme Childhood and Adult Trauma?

This post is part of a series on adverse childhood experiences. Read the other parts here.

Resilience: The ability to take a licking and keep on ticking (from an old Timex advertisement).

I had the privilege of interviewing scores of resilient World War II combat survivors and learned what kept them mentally balanced throughout their lives. Most of them came from close-knit families. This was not the case with Russell Dunham, the only member of his family who was not an alcoholic. Dunham was born in a boxcar to a sickly mother who died when he was 7. His mean father kept a string of mean mistresses, finally marrying the meanest one, who promptly kicked Dunham out of the house when he was 16. Dunham joined the Army, seeking a sense of belonging, but was constantly getting into trouble and avoiding responsibility. Then the war broke out.

Dunham fought in eight major campaigns, beginning in North Africa and ending in Germany, enduring 407 days in combat, and being wounded twice. What enabled him to overcome his adversities and maintain his sanity? We can learn a lot from his trials. Here are some of Dunham’s insights on the strengths of resilience.

Source: Russell Dunham / used with permission

Meaning and Purpose. The carnage in Italy became so bad that officers told him, “Dunham, if you don’t accept responsibility and accept sergeant stripes, we will court-martial you for dereliction of duty.” Dunham came to cherish his stripes. He knew he was a good soldier and now wanted to become a good man and look out for his troops. Respecting his example, troops would volunteer to go on patrol with him or would go AWOL from their units to fight beside him in the same battle. When he liberated the concentration camps in Germany, he knew exactly why he was fighting. First Hitler persecuted the Jews, then it would be anyone whom Hitler didn’t like.

Calm Under Pressure. Dunham earned the Medal of Honor by single-handedly neutralizing three German machine gun positions on a snowy hillside near the Rhine River. He said, “People think you go berserk when you do that. If you do, you get killed.” He was thinking the whole time about his own safety and that of his men, whom he had positioned safely at the foot of the hill.

Love. Dunham reflected: You can’t explain the bond that forms between comrades in arms. I had a lot of respect for my men. I cared for them. As a private I was inseparable from my friends. Returning to my unit after being wounded was like returning home—the only one I had at the time. I had tears in my eyes when I said goodbye to them at the end of the war. You need your friends before, during, and after [tough times].” After the war, Dunham became a VA counselor, where he got to serve the veterans he cared so much for.

Determination. Remarkably, Dunham saw that his difficult childhood strengthened him in some ways—strenuous farm work, going hungry often, learning to fend for himself, pushing himself when exhausted to hunt for food. At times when he thought he might break, he summoned his inner strength to push on.

Quiet faith. Despite his outer toughness, Dunham was an unusually sensitive and thoughtful man. He said, “You always had a prayer on your lips, it was natural. At times I could almost feel God’s presence. Although on Anzio, I thought God went on a coffee break. Even today I believe, it gives you comfort."

Moral Courage. A lieutenant on the verge of a mental breakdown was sending one man at a time into a clearing to make an attack. Three men were killed before Dunham got to him and said, “You aren’t going to send my men to get killed.” He reported him to the company commander and never saw that lieutenant again. Instead, Dunham led a flanking attack with all his men together and lost no more men.

Humor. Dunham said he and his men constantly found things to laugh about, which broke the tension. For example, one GI shared a letter from his girlfriend, to whom he’d sent his Purple Heart. The girlfriend asked if he could send another Purple Heart for her mother.

Conclusion

How might Russell Dunham’s experience strengthen us? In his unique way, he shed light on many common strengths of resilient survivors, strengths that we can expand. For example, finding meaning and purpose in life gives us a reason to persevere through adversity with calm determination, as does genuine love and feeling responsible for the welfare of others. Resilient survivors often report that spirituality affords comfort and hope throughout tough times. And moral courage allows us to look back on our lives with satisfaction. Dunham’s inspiring life suggests that the strengths of resilience can be discovered and incrementally cultivated throughout our lives.