Remembering War the American Way

by Piehler, G. Kurt

• ISBN13: 9781588341457
• ISBN10: 1588341453
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-05-17
• Publisher: Smithsonian Books

Summary

Wars do not fully end when the shooting stops. As G. Kurt Piehler reveals in this book, after every conflict from the Revolution to the Persian Gulf War, Americans have argued about how and for what deeds and heroes wars should be remembered. Drawing on sources ranging from government documents toEmbalmer's Montly, Piehler recounts efforts to commemorate wars by erecting monuments, designating holidays, forming veterans' organizations, and establishing national cemetaries. 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 moneyand 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 Wayreveals that the memory of war is intrinsically bound to the pluralistic definition of national identity.

Author Biography

G. Kurt Piehler is director of the Center for the Study of War and Society at the University of Tennessee. He lives in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Table of Contents

Preface to Papberback Edition	ix
Introduction	1	(9)
The Memory of a Nation Forged in War	10	(37)
The Divided Legacy of the Civil War	47	(45)
Remembering the War to End All Wars	92	(34)
The ``Good War'' and Modern Memory	126	(28)
From the Korean War to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial	154	(29)
Conclusion	183	(10)
Notes	193	(33)
Index	226