Coping with the memories of War Post-Traumatic Stress disorder also known as PTSD is an emotional illness which is caused by a traumatic experience in one’s own life that was frightening, life-threatening, or highly unsafe. Individuals who suffer from PTSD are very sensitive to normal life and cannot function how they once were. Combat Stress Reaction (CSR), more commonly known as “shell shock”, is a type of illness that World War I soldiers suffered. Shell shock is another kind of psychological illness that is almost like PTSD. However, its illness causes a soldier to decrease his fighting ability due to shock waves from artillery shells during the frontline battle. These psychological illnesses are more commonly known with war soldiers who have experienced some kind of horrific event and what a soldier remembers from his experience causes destruction psychologically and mentally. Veteran soldiers who return home suffer with this type of disorder and therefore, must find a way to cope with it. People and more specifically soldiers cope with the memories of war in many ways. They either cope with it through avoiding people they love or keep distant from society, through anger and hostility, and focusing on a certain object or thing that they can use to cope with the memories of war. There are two different stories that show how a Native American and an African American soldier cope with their memories of war. Both stories are from two different time periods: one from World War I and the other from the Vietnam War. In Toni Morrison’s “1919” a black man by the name of Shadrack copes with the memories of World War I by several ways. One way he coped with the memories on World War I would be celebrating National Suicide Day. National Suicide Day is a made-up holiday that Shadrack founded and was the only celebrant. It is a day where one can kill each other or commit