Remembering War the American WayDrawing on sources ranging from government documents to Embalmer's Monthly, G. Kurt Piehler recounts efforts to commemorate wars by erecting monuments, designating holidays, forming veterans' organizations, and establishing national cemeteries. The federal government, he contends, initially sidestepped funding for memorials, thereby leaving the determination of how and whom to honor in the hands of those with ready money - and those who responded to them. In one instance, monuments to "Yankee heroes" erected by the Daughters of the American Revolution were countered by immigrant groups, who added such figures as Casimir Pulaski and Thaddeus Kosciusko to the record of the war. Piehler argues that the conflict between these groups is emblematic of the ongoing reinterpretation of wars by majority and minority groups, and by successive generations. Demonstrating that the battles over the Vietnam Veterans Memorial are not unique in American history, Remembering War the American Way reveals that the memory of war is intrinsically bound to the pluralistic definition of national identity. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The Memory of a Nation Forged in War | 10 |
Remembering the War to End All Wars | 92 |
Copyright | |
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African Americans Ameri American Battle Monuments American Legion American Revolution American society anniversary Arlington Armistice Day army Arts Association Battle Monuments Commission battlefields build built burial City Civil Committee communities Confederate conflict Cong created Culture Day ceremonies dead declared Department erected ethnic federal government Federalists George German Gettysburg Gold Star Mothers graves hero holiday Holocaust honor Independence Day insisted John Korean Korean War leaders Lincoln Memorial Day ment Mexican-American War military monu Museum National Archives National Cemetery national memory National Monument National Sculpture Society North officers orators organizations overseas parades Park peace Pearl Harbor Photograph political President Records remained remember Representative Republic Republicans rituals role Roosevelt Sculpture Second World Second World War Secretary served sess Smithsonian Institution South southern statue struggle symbol tion tomb U.S. Congress Union United University Press Unknown Soldier victory Vietnam Veterans Memorial Vietnam War wanted wars Washington York