Document Type

Thesis

Date of Degree Completion

Spring 2025

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

Committee Chair

Jason Knirck

Second Committee Member

Roxanne Easley

Third Committee Member

Mandy Link

Fourth Committee Member

Stephen Moore

Abstract

As time continues to separate us from the “greatest generation,” the study of World War II memory proves critical in understanding whose story is remembered and passed down. Using the oral histories personally collected of twenty American veterans who served in either theater of World War II, their own memories are directly compared to what one may learn through media, school, or political speeches. The oral histories of these men have proven that American World War II memory in the popular and public sphere (media and national leaders, respectively) have reduced the war to themes of bravery, patriotism, and duty for purposes of simplified entertainment or national unity in trying times. Consequently, while an attempt to honor veterans, the notion of the “greatest generation” has created such a narrow lens of WWII memory that veterans’ own stories have been forgotten due to their arduous experiences. The complex and harrowing memories of World War II veterans directly rival or complicate the accepted notion of fighting a “good war,” so their stories are neglected for their inability to further such.

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