“GUILTY…WHO ME?” In the spring of 1959 an Air Force major entered a Texas mental institution for the second time. He had tried to commit suicide twice and he had been arrested for forgery and robbery. For years he had been drinking heavily and his marriage had disintegrated. Yet only fifteen years before, he had been a model officer headed for a promising career. One momentous event precipitated the major’s plunge. He flew the lead plane over Hiroshima when the first atom bomb was dropped. Shortly afterward he began seeing throngs of Japanese men, women, and children chasing in his dreams. and his own life began to collapse. The psychiatrist who treated him said the major was subconsciously trying to provoke punishment from society to atone for the guilt he felt over Hiroshima and other acts. Unresolved guilt was destroying his life. Few of us suffer such grievous guilt. But all of us are troubled occasionally by recurring pangs of hidden guilt. Guilt, self-acceptance, and…
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