Soldier Bodies
A. Soldiers Bodies
Sarah Wagner, “The Making and Unmaking of an Unknown Soldier,” Social Studies of Science, 43(5): 631-656, 2013.
The article describes the military identification technology in the 1990s and the decision to remove the remains from the Vietnam crypt of the Tomb of Unknowns and the subsequent work on the previously unidentified remains in previous wars. It argues that naming the dead soldiers and returning their remains personalize the ideals of sacrifice and honor embodied in the fallen soldier and invites localized, communal remembrance. The shifts in technology and memory altered the modes of national commemoration and how the sacrifice is justified or history is defined through the care for the war dead.
Lisa M. Budreau, Bodies of War: World War I and the Politics of Commemoration in America, 1919-1933, New York: New York University Press, 2010.
The book firstly discusses the U.S. military’s repatriation, identification, and burial of its fallen soldiers in the WWI. Then, it moves to the construction of WWI memorials and cemeteries both in the U.S. and Europe and highlights the tension between the authorities and the families in deciding the approaches to remember the war. The third part narrates the postwar pilgrims to the U.S. Army cemeteries in Europe organized by family organizations. The central argument of the …show more content…
The bones excavated in a Ukrainian city Vinnytsia belonged to political victims of Stalin’s terror. Since their discovery, different power holders have been debating the truth behind the atrocities and how to place it into the nation’s history. The author argues that the bones are evidence of past crimes and tangible signs to break away from the old regime. However, there is still a long way for Ukraine to create a national memory of this atrocity as various political sects exploited the bones to their own
Sarah Wagner, “The Making and Unmaking of an Unknown Soldier,” Social Studies of Science, 43(5): 631-656, 2013.
The article describes the military identification technology in the 1990s and the decision to remove the remains from the Vietnam crypt of the Tomb of Unknowns and the subsequent work on the previously unidentified remains in previous wars. It argues that naming the dead soldiers and returning their remains personalize the ideals of sacrifice and honor embodied in the fallen soldier and invites localized, communal remembrance. The shifts in technology and memory altered the modes of national commemoration and how the sacrifice is justified or history is defined through the care for the war dead.
Lisa M. Budreau, Bodies of War: World War I and the Politics of Commemoration in America, 1919-1933, New York: New York University Press, 2010.
The book firstly discusses the U.S. military’s repatriation, identification, and burial of its fallen soldiers in the WWI. Then, it moves to the construction of WWI memorials and cemeteries both in the U.S. and Europe and highlights the tension between the authorities and the families in deciding the approaches to remember the war. The third part narrates the postwar pilgrims to the U.S. Army cemeteries in Europe organized by family organizations. The central argument of the …show more content…
The bones excavated in a Ukrainian city Vinnytsia belonged to political victims of Stalin’s terror. Since their discovery, different power holders have been debating the truth behind the atrocities and how to place it into the nation’s history. The author argues that the bones are evidence of past crimes and tangible signs to break away from the old regime. However, there is still a long way for Ukraine to create a national memory of this atrocity as various political sects exploited the bones to their own