British state-supported Holocaust remembrance has dramatically grown in prominence since the 1990s. This monograph provides the first substantial discussion of the interface between public Holocaust memory in contemporary Britain and the nation's changing religious-secular landscape. In the first half of the book attention is given to the relationships between remembrance activities and Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and post-Christian communities. Such relationships are far from monolithic, being entangled in diverse histories, identities, power-structures, and notions of 'British values'. In the book's second half, the focus turns to ways in which public initiatives concerned with Holocaust commemoration and education are intertwined with evocations and perceptions of the sacred. Three state-supported endeavours are addressed in detail: Holocaust Memorial Day, plans for a major new memorial site in London, and school visits to Auschwitz. Considering these phenomena through concepts of ritual, sacred space, and pilgrimage, it is proposed that response to the Holocaust has become a key feature of Britain's 21st century religious-secular landscape. Critical consideration of these topics, it is argued, is necessary for both a better understanding of religious-secular change in modern Britain and a sustainable culture of remembrance and national self-examination. This is the first study to examine Holocaust remembrance and British religiosity/secularity in relation to one another. As such, it will be of keen interest to scholars of Religious Studies, Jewish studies and Holocaust Studies, as well as the Sociology of Religion, Material Religion and Secularism.

Living on the Western Front provides a highly original history of the settler experience in Befland ([B]ritish [E]xpeditionary [F]orce land) during the First World War. Using an unusual representational form that involves the stitching together of over a hundred extracts from primary sources, which can then in turn be read either chronologically or thematically, Chris Ward brilliantly depicts a sense of settlers' lives in Great War Belgium, Northern France and Germany. Simultaneously an annal and an anthology of stories, this book tells us about landscapes, sounds, smells, food, journeys, memory and morale in the way that the Befland settlers actually lived and experienced them. The book also challenges popular conceptions of what history writing can or should be. It drags us away from the reassuringly commanding authorial voice of the conventional historical narrative towards an approach that brings a degree of uncertainty and encourages us to experiment with History and its relationship with the past in an exciting and rewarding way.

"It is impossible to reproduce the state of mind of the men who waged war in 1917 and 1918," Edward Coffman wrote in "The War to End All Wars." In "Doughboys on the Great War" the voices of thousands of servicemen say otherwise. The majority of soldiers from the American Expeditionary Forces returned from Europe in 1919. Where many were simply asked for basic data, veterans from four states--Utah, Minnesota, Connecticut, and Virginia--were given questionnaires soliciting additional information and "remarks." Drawing on these questionnaires, completed while memories were still fresh, this book presents a chorus of soldiers' voices speaking directly of the expectations, motivations, and experiences as infantrymen on the Western Front in World War I.

What was it like to kill or maim German soldiers? To see friends killed or maimed by the enemy? To return home after experiencing such violence? Again and again, soldiers wrestle with questions like these, putting into words what only they can tell. They also reflect on why they volunteered, why they fought, what their training was, and how ill-prepared they were for what they found overseas. They describe how they interacted with the civilian populations in England and France, how they saw the rewards and frustrations of occupation duty when they desperately wanted to go home, and--perhaps most significantly--what it all added up to in the end. Together their responses create a vivid and nuanced group portrait of the soldiers who fought with the American Expeditionary Forces on the battlefields of Aisne-Marne, Argonne Forest, Belleau Wood, Chateau-Thierry, the Marne, Metz, Meuse-Argonne, St. Mihiel, Sedan, and Verdun during the First World War.

The picture that emerges is often at odds with the popular notion of the disillusioned doughboy. Though hardened and harrowed by combat, the veteran heard here is for the most part proud of his service, service undertaken for duty, honor, and country. In short, a hundred years later, the doughboy once more speaks in his own true voice.

The book is a collection of studies on the war in Ukraine. The considerations focus on different contexts of the first phase of the armed conflict. The authors try to answer questions about the motives and results of Russian disinformation and blaming Ukraine, the US and NATO for the invasion, as well as of the position of third countries towards the Russian aggression. One of the issues addressed is sexual violence in wartime and the image of women in armed conflict. The authors also analyze the aid provided by certain nations and Ukrainian national minorities in selected countries. Some chapters also examined public opinions on various war-related issues. Such a broad approach provides multidimensional view of the war while complementing earlier images of the conflict in Ukraine.

Little is known about the many achievements of African American guardsmen in U.S. history from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. This detailed account thus fills an important gap in our knowledge about the establishment of African American militias in 1877 and their service in wartime and peacetime until the integration of the National Guard in 1950. This careful study of extensive primary and secondary sources is intended for military historians and for all who want to know more about African American contributions to the defense of our nation. Following a short introduction providing some historical background, the study launches into a description of the establishment of African American militia organizations in and about 1877 and their involvement in the Spanish American War and in quelling civil disturbances and disasters up to 1914. The history deals next with the service of African American guardsmen units in World War I, their work in the years between the wars, and their involvement in World War II. The story ends with a description of the initial reorganization of these units and their integration into the National Guard in 1949 and 1950. A lengthy bibliography of primary and secondary sources is useful as well in pointing to the role of African American militias and guardsmen in the history of this important period.

This volume examines what the citizen soldiery of the New England states wore when they marched off to save the Union in 1861. An exhaustive search of thousands of newspapers yielded a myriad of reports and personal accounts from soldiers letters, which together offer a hitherto unpublished view of the stirring events during the first few months of the Civil War. Combined with fascinating detail from numerous diaries and regimental histories, the author is able to describe the appearance of the Union volunteers of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, and Maine. The narrative is enhanced by photographs of original uniform items from private collections, plus imagery of the day showing the great variety of clothing and headgear worn. Accepted by the Company of Military Historians, this is an essential reference for collectors, living historians, modelers, and curators, as well as anyone with a general interest in the Civil War.

This compelling and timely collaboration between photographer/writer Jim Lommasson and American veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars presents Lommassons portraits and interviews as well as soldiers own photographs from the war zones. The stories expressed in words and in images are intimate, profound, and timeless. In their own words, 50 men and women speak their truth about these warswhat they saw and what they did. They talk about the wars impact on themselves and on their loved ones at home as well as on the Iraqis and Afghanis caught in the crossfire. They talk about why they went to war and how the war came home with them. Our soldiers need to tell their stories, and we need to listen.

Tom Hanks introduces the "remarkable" (Publishers Weekly) true story of two inseparable friends and soldiers portrayed in the HBO (R) miniseries Band of Brothers. William "Wild Bill" Guarnere and Edward "Babe" Heffron were among the first paratroopers of the U.S. Army-members of an elite unit of the 101st Airborne Division called Easy Company. The crack unit was called upon for every high-risk operation of the war, including D-Day, Operation Market Garden in Holland, the Battle of the Bulge, and the capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest in Berchtesgaden. In his own words, Guarnere gives a gripping account of D-Day from the paratrooper's perspective. Both men vividly re-create dropping into Holland to capture the roads and bridges between Eindhoven and Arnhem, known as Hell's Highway. Through much of 1944 both friends fought side by side-until Guarnere lost his right leg in the Battle of the Bulge and was sent home. Heffron went on to liberate slave labor and concentration camps and capture Hitler's Eagle's Nest hideout. United by their experience, the two reconnected at the war's end and were inseparable up until their deaths. Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends is a tribute to the lasting bond forged between comrades in arms under fire and to all the brave men who fought fearlessly for freedom. Includes photographs

Too often American veterans return from combat and spiral into depression, anger and loneliness they can neither share nor tackle on their own. Military Mental Health Care: A Guide for Service Members, Veterans, Families, and Community seeks to aid our troubled, returning forces by dissecting the numerous mental health problems they face upon arriving stateside. Don Philpott and Cheryl Lawhorne-Scott, co-authors with Janelle Hill of the highly successful Wounded Warrior Handbook, detail not only each issue's symptoms, but also discuss what treatments are available, and the best ways for veterans to access those treatments while readjusting to civilian life. In addition, they connect and explain many alarming trends, such as joblessness, poverty and addiction, appearing in our nation's veteran population on a broader scale. PTSD and struggles with anxiety affect far more than veterans themselves, as sobering phenomena like homelessness, suicide, domestic violence and divorce too often become realities for those returning from war. Military Mental Health Care is both a resource for struggling veterans and a useful tool for their loved ones, or anyone looking for ways to support the veterans in their lives.

This book examines the politics of military families in relation to the tensions between the state, military organization, and private life. It elaborates on the tensions between the advent of challenging worldwide deployment for the military and the prominence of the home front. The volume aims to understand the dynamics of conflict and change within triad figurations at the macro (society), meso (organizational), and micro (family) level and is guided by the following overarching research questions: What are the key issues in the three-party dynamics? What tensions exist in these dynamics? How do actors seek to arrive at a balance? What initiatives for change are made? With contributions from international scholars, who examine the workings of politics in military families at all three levels, the book argues that members within military families deal with shifting power balances and these are impacted by demands from organizations and the state. This book will be of much interest to students of military studies, sociology, organizational studies and politics.

This book outlines the relationship between social identity theory and military to civilian transition, examining the mass movement of soldiers back into the civilian occupational world by considering literature specifically on role exit and in relation to the process of full-time military exit. The authors document a range of biographical and experientially-focussed case studies to highlight the range of transitions experienced by individuals leaving the armed forces. This book highlights the challenges faced by those transitioning between military and civilian roles through retirement, redundancy, medical discharge or in constant transition as a Reservist. It addresses themes of significant public interest in the light of the recent restructure of the UK full-time and reserve services and following the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The American military is currently experiencing its largest demobilization in history. Nearly two million soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen have been deployed in the recent conflict and most will be coming home. Every family will be concerned about their warrior, why his behavior may have changed so dramatically, and what they can do to help her make the transition to the next phase or her life. Unlike service members who live with their colleagues in arms and remain connected to them after their time in service, many family members do not have these kinds of connections nor do they have access or knowledge of the resources that can help them understand and cope with all the changes. The bureaucratic hurdles and paperwork may feel overwhelming for family members and they may not be aware of all of the benefits they have earned. The deployment can also have an enormous psychological impact on the service member and on the family members in ways that they may not even be aware. And when service members are wounded or disabled during the conflict it will frequently fall to the family members to bear the additional responsibilities of caring for the service member and providing rehabilitation.
The American military is currently experiencing its largest demobilization in history. Nearly two million soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen have been deployed in the recent conflict and most will be coming home. Every family will be concerned about their warrior, why his behavior may have changed so dramatically, and what they can do to help her make the transition to the next phase or her life. Unlike service members who live with their colleagues in arms and remain connected to them after their time in service, many family members do not have these kinds of connections nor do they have access or knowledge of the resources that can help them understand and cope with all the changes. The bureaucratic hurdles and paperwork may feel overwhelming for family members and they may not be aware of all of the benefits they have earned. The deployment can also have an enormous psychological impact on the service member and on the family members in ways that they may not even be aware. And when service members are wounded or disabled during the conflict it will frequently fall to the family members to bear the additional responsibilities of caring for the service member and providing rehabilitation.
The book begins with a series of chapters that describes the current situation for the family of service members. These chapters answer questions about how deployment impacts the family of the warrior and what happens (and what emotions occur) during and immediately after the warrior returns home and how families can best cope, survive, and thrive. With multiple deployments becoming more common another early chapter addresses the impact of multiple deployments on the family. Since resilient family members are better able to cope with the reintegration another chapter describes how families can build their resiliency. Suicide has become a big problem in the military (more service members dying by suicide than dying on the battle field) so another chapter describes why they commit suicide and provides guidance on how family members can prevent it from happening. Drug and alcohol abuse are also rampant among service members so the book provides guidance on warning signs and ways to help the family member. Other chapters provide parenting tips. The needs of blended families, engaged couples, single warriors and other non-traditional families are also addressed. Other chapters offer advice on how to help the service member look for a job, go back to school or start college, and how to rekindle a couple's intimacy and sex after deployment. The special needs of female warriors and their spouses and family members of Reservists and Guard members are also addressed. The needs of disabled and injured service members (and the impact on family members) are also addressed with guidance provided on how the family can cope and thrive with these new challenges.

Having flunked out of college in the fall of 1965, the author enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was soon assigned to Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia, a place designed to manufacture the commodity a wartime army most quickly expends-rifle platoon leaders. In 1968, he found himself in Vietnam, part of the First Cavalry Division. From his memories and the battalion's radio log, the tedium, dread, fear and bewilderment of the everyday grunts are revealed. He found combat neither glorious nor great, reminding us of the humanity of the men who fought in Vietnam. The author's experiences at Kent State University in 1970 during the infamous shootings on that campus are also included.

Dozens of books about the Iraq War have been written by politicians, generals, snipers, and Special Forces operatives. This war journal of an enlisted U.S. Marine reservist provides an un-glamorized narrative of a common soldier's deployment to Iraq, from notification of mobilization to final trip home. The visceral experiences of combat are described in candid detail, along with the hazards of homesickness, boredom and loss. In light of the Islamic State's continuing operations in the region described in the book, the author's story presents a poignant account of the failures so far of the War on Terror.

Jocelyn Pereira's vivid and colourful narrative of the 5th Battalion' Coldstream Guards advance from Normandy to Cuxhaven in 1944-45 is a priceless piece of regimental history and a tribute to those who served in that final, testing phase of the war. It is a story of war, an intensely human endeavour, with its bursts of extreme activity interspersed with long periods of relative inactivity; with its highs and lows, good times and bad. It is a story of Guardsmen, of professionalism and discipline in the most demanding of circumstances, of initiative and resourcefulness, of determination and stubbornness, of fortitude and stoicism in adversity, of comradeship and consideration for others, of humour and unbreakable morale, of extraordinary gallantry and sacrifice. With a light touch, a dose of irreverence, modesty and understatement, and an evidently healthy disregard for dress regulations, Jocelyn Pereira captures that enduring Coldstream spirit. A Distant Drum also contains useful appendices for the historian, these include: a Roll of Honour, citations for awards and medals and lists of orders of battle throughout the campaign.

All of the uniform-specific insignia used by the Waffen-SS in World War II are presented in this concise, all-color book. Included are sleeve and cap eagles in their various versions, collar tabs, sleeve shields, and cuff titles, as well as shoulder boards and straps, and rank insignia. Using nearly 300 color photographs, this book shows the scope in insignia the Waffen-SS achieved by war's end, and how far it deviated from Himmler's earlier principles as a result of the steadily deteriorating war situation. Some of the rarest insignia shown are those from Waffen-SS units using Armenian, Bosnian, Indian, and Georgian troops. Also included are numerous war-era photos that document the wearing of the various insignia shown.

"The 22nd Maine Regiment joined General Nathaniel Banks' campaign in Louisiana, fighting at Irish Bend in two attacks on Port Hudson. Drawing on first-person accounts from soldiers, a company commander, and colonel, this military history follows the Civil War regiment from formation in 1862 to muster out in 1863"--Provided by publisher.

Military pedagogical research and teaching has made headways. There is still no internationally accepted unified field theory, but the diversity and heterogeneity of military pedagogy reflects the complexity of modern military tasks and enables the scientific debate on military ethics and morale, military education and interculturality. While political and educational developments have caught up with some of the topics addressed, changes in the military and the political and educational landscape will always necessitate this branch of academia to continuously adapt to the needs of the armed forces and their servicemen and -women. Insofar, the diverse contributions in this volume offer valuable insights into current military pedagogical thinking and acting.

During the Civil War, Confederate military courts sentenced to death more soldiers from North Carolina than from any other state. This study offers the first exploration of the service records of 450 of these wayward Confederates, most often deserters. Arranged by army, corps, division and brigade, it chronicles their military trials and frequent executions and offers explanations of how a lucky few were able to avoid their fate. Focus on court activity by company allows for comparisons that emphasize the wide disparity in discipline within a regiment and brigade. By stressing the effectiveness of these deadly decisions as deterrents to others, this work maintains that an earlier and wider reliance on execution would have strengthened the Confederacy sufficiently to force a negotiated end to the war, thus saving many Confederate and Federal lives.