Un-doing the Vietnam War Legacy: Monumentalizing Second World War Veterans to Legitimize Contemporary US Military Interventions

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Marzena Sokołowska-Paryż
Keyword(s):  
Vietnam War ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
Military Interventions ◽  
War Veterans ◽  
Us Military ◽  
The Vietnam War ◽  
Second World

scholarly journals Commentary

1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 217-218
Author(s):  
Leigh A. Neal
Keyword(s):  
Vietnam War ◽  
Far East ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Prisoners Of War ◽  
Combat Stress ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
World War ◽  
War Veterans ◽  
Second World

It is a sobering fact that the average age of the surviving veterans of the Second World War is now close to 80 years. The available information indicates that the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in all Second World War veterans is slightly higher than the 15% lifetime prevalence found in Vietnam War veterans, although there are few reliable studies on which to base this conclusion. It is, however, consistent with the finding that combat stress, based on casualty rates, during periods of the Vietnam War was equivalent to the severity of combat stress in the Second World War. There are several epidemiological studies (Beebe, 1975; Tennant et al, 1986) of more specific Second World War veteran groups such as Far East prisoners of war and, predictably, they show higher PTSD prevalence rates, ranging between 30 and 50%.

U.S. Conduct in the Vietnam War: Commentaries on Bernd Greiner's War without Fronts

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Bacevich ◽  
Edwin Moïse ◽  
Mark Atwood Lawrence ◽  
Bernd Greiner
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Vietnam War ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Vietnam War ◽  
Second World

Three leading experts on the Vietnam War and U.S. foreign policy offer separate evaluations of Bernd Greiner's book War without Fronts: The USA in Vietnam. The book presents a harsh and controversial appraisal of the conduct of U.S. troops in Vietnam, depicting the My Lai massacre not as an aberration but as one of a long series of atrocities committed by U.S. personnel. The three commentators diverge in their assessments of the book. Andrew Bacevich and Edwin Moïse sharply criticize the book, which they see as one-sided and often tendentious, selective, and inaccurate in its use of evidence. Bacevich argues that the book is intended in part, if only subconsciously, to bolster revisionist German claims about the conduct of Germany during the Second World War, and Moïse casts doubt on Greiner's use of key sources. Mark Lawrence, by contrast, praises the book and believes that it will help to refocus study of U.S. conduct in Vietnam. The forum concludes with a reply by Greiner to the three commentaries.

scholarly journals Coping with traumatic memories: Second World War veterans' experiences of social support in relation to the narrative coherence of war memories

2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
KAREN J. BURNELL ◽  
PETER G. COLEMAN ◽  
NIGEL HUNT
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Narrative Coherence ◽  
World War ◽  
War Veterans ◽  
Traumatic Memories ◽  
War Experiences ◽  
Second World

ABSTRACTThis paper reports a qualitative study that used narrative analysis to explore how social support helps many armed-services veterans cope with traumatic memories. The analysis was carried out on two levels, that of narrative form (level of narrative coherence), argued to be indicative of reconciliation, and narrative content (themes of social support), which allowed exploration of the types of social support experienced by veterans with coherent, reconciled and incoherent narratives. Ten British male Second World War veterans were interviewed regarding their war experiences, presence of traumatic memories, and experiences of social support from comrades, family and society. Different patterns of support were qualitatively related to coherent, reconciled and incoherent narratives. Veterans with coherent narratives were no less likely to have experienced traumatic events than those with reconciled or incoherent narratives, but they reported more positive perceptions of their war experience and of the war's outcomes, more positive experiences of communication with family in later life, and more positive perceptions of societal opinion. The results are discussed in relation to how veterans can be supported by family and friends to reconcile their traumatic memories, thus to lessen the burden in later life when vital support resources may be unavailable.

US Marines, Miskitos and the Hunt for Sandino: the Río Coco Patrol in 1928

1989 ◽  
Vol 21 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 311-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Brooks
Keyword(s):  
Marine Corps ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
Us Military ◽  
Young Officer ◽  
The Us ◽  
Significant Step ◽  
Second World ◽  
Major General

Among historians of the US Marine Corps, Major-General Merritt A. (‘Red Mike’) Edson's Río Coco Patrol is well known.1His expedition up Nicaragua's Coco River in 1928 represented a significant step forward in what the US military would later call ‘riverine’ operations. The mission also made the career of a young officer who would lead one of the Raider Battalions in the Second World War and receive the Medal of Honor for his participation in the campaign to capture Guadalcanal.

scholarly journals Declared and Undeclared Wars

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-31
Author(s):  
René Värk
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Armed Force ◽  
Legal Regulations ◽  
World War ◽  
Military Interventions ◽  
Application Of Law ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
Extra Weight ◽  
Second World

AbstractOccasionally, people characterise foreign military interventions as “undeclared wars”. It is not entirely clear what is the meaning and value of such a qualification, but it seems that they want to add an extra weight to their condemnation. Still, does it have legal significance? At times, international law demanded that States issued a declaration of war before the commencement of hostilities but the obligation was mostly ignored for varied reasons. Notably, between two world wars, States avoided certain legal obligations (e.g. the prohibition to use war, the rules of warfare) by not declaring or otherwise recognising a state of war. After the Second World War, considering the earlier abuses, States redesigned the international legal regulations in a way that the declaration of war became practically irrelevant when it comes to the legality or illegality of the use of armed force, or to the application of law.

EVOLUTION OF THE AERIAL DEFENCE OF AIR BASES. CONCEPTS AND LESSONS LEARNED

2019 ◽  
Vol 114 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-74
Author(s):  
Grzegorz KOŁATA, LTC, MSc, Eng
Keyword(s):  
Vietnam War ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
World War ◽  
Yom Kippur War ◽  
Air Surveillance ◽  
Yom Kippur ◽  
Second World

The lessons learned during wars and armed conflicts indicate that the main factor influencing the aerial defence of air bases were directly related to the rapid development of the combat capabilities of aerial threats. Air bases have been lucrative targets for enemy air strikes since the first documented attack by a British aircraft on a German airfield in 1914 and have remained so for contemporary military air operations. The article discusses the evolution of concepts and lessons learned in the field of aerial defence of air bases that resulted from armed conflicts and local wars. The analysis includes armed conflicts, which, according to the author, have reflected the changes in the organisation of the aerial defence of air bases, including the repulsion of air strikes against aviation on the ground. Attention was paid to the conditions related to the aerial defence of aviation on the ground during the First World War. A more thorough analysis was made of the Second World War period, focused on the Western Front and the defence of Poland. Particular attention was paid to the Battle of Britain, noting the importance of the organisation of the radar air surveillance system in the context of the effectiveness of air defence. The focus of the analysis then shifts to the aerial defence of air bases during armed conflicts after the Second World War: the Vietnam War (1965-1973), the Yom Kippur War (1973), the defence of air bases in the Yom Kippur War (1973), and NATO operations from the air against air bases during the Deny Flight / Deliberate Force (1992-1995) and Allied Force (1999) operations. The article also makes a preliminary assessment of the aerial defence of air bases during the ongoing conflict in Syria.

MAU MAU'S ARMY OF CLERKS: COLONIAL MILITARY SERVICE AND THE KENYA LAND FREEDOM ARMY IN KENYA'S NATIONAL IMAGINATION

2017 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
TIMOTHY H. PARSONS
Keyword(s):  
Military Service ◽  
Combat Veterans ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
War Veterans ◽  
Combat Experience ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Mau Mau ◽  
National Imagination ◽  
Second World

AbstractScholarly and popular histories of Kenya largely agree that African Second World War veterans played a central role in the Kenya Land Freedom Army. Former African members of the colonial security forces have reinforced these assumptions by claiming to have been covert Mau Mau supporters, either after their discharge, or as serving soldiers. In reality, few Mau Mau generals had actual combat experience. Those who served in the colonial military usually did so in labor units or support arms. It therefore warrants asking why so many Kenyans accept that combat veterans played such a central role in the KLFA and in Kenyan history. Understanding how veterans of the colonial army have become national heroes, both for their wartime service and their supposed leadership of Mau Mau, reveals the capacity of popular history to create more useful and inclusive forms of African nationalism.

scholarly journals Commemoration reconsidered: Second World War Veterans’ reunion as pilgrimage

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyoko Murakami
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
War Veterans ◽  
The Real ◽  
Second World

This article recognises the crucial role cultural and social contexts play in shaping individual and collective recollections. Such recollections involve multiple, intertwined levels of experience in the real world such as commemorating a war. Thus, the commemoration practised in a particular context deserves an empirical investigation. The methodological approach taken is naturalistic, as it situates commemoration as remembering and recollection in the real world of things and people. I consider the case of a war veterans’ reunion as an analogy for a pilgrimage, and in that pilgrimage-like transformative process, we can observe the dynamics of remembering that is mediated with artefacts and involves people’s interactions with the social environment. Furthermore, remembering, recollection and commemorating the war can be approached in terms of embodied interactions with culturally and historically organised materials. In this article, I will review the relevant literature on key topics and concepts including pilgrimage, transformation and liminality and communitas in order to create a theoretical framework. I present an analysis and discussion on the ethnographic fieldwork on the Burma Campaign (of the Second World War) veterans’ reunion. The article strives to contribute to the critical forum of memory research, highlighting the significance of a holistic and interdisciplinary exposition of the vital role context plays in the practice of commemorating war.

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