John M. Kinder. Paying with Their Bodies: American War and the Problem of the Disabled Veteran .
2016; Oxford University Press; Volume: 121; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1093/ahr/121.2.580
ISSN1937-5239
Autores Tópico(s)Canadian Identity and History
ResumoWar demands a heavy price be paid. The aftermath of any military engagement produces horrific scenes of blood and carnage, which, in turn, results in thousands of soldiers and officers facing the challenges of newfound disability. However, within the larger scope of American military history, the place of the disabled veteran has usually been the sidelines, rather than in the center of a field ripe with examinations of battles, tactics, and the political and social ramifications of warfare. Thankfully, John M. Kinder’s Paying with Their Bodies: American War and the Problem of the Disabled Veteran is a rich and timely examination of veterans and the extraordinary price they paid in the form of dismembered limbs, shredded flesh, and chronic pains that traveled with them from the trenches of Europe to the farmsteads of the heartland of America. The years surrounding World War I make for a fertile period to examine the problematic role of the disabled veteran within American society. Kinder focuses much of his examination on a series of problems that the injured veteran created for various groups. Progressives saw that the financial burden necessary to care for a massive amount of injured men had the potential to financially crush the nation. Although the nation wanted a return to normalcy in the 1920s, the presence of thousands of men showcasing both visible and invisible signs of trauma forced the culture to at least consider sanctioning rehabilitation that could “remasculinize America’s wounded warriors, saving them from lives of shameful dependency” (122). Veterans arose to make sure that they would not end up forgotten by their fellow citizens or a government who owed them for their sacrifice.
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