Repatriation -- The journey's end -- Origins -- A daunting pledge -- Charon's price -- A problem of policy -- Make way for democracy! -- Troubled waters -- Bringing them home -- Remembrance -- Republican motherhood thrives -- A star of recognition -- A reluctant giant -- A commission is born -- Sacred space and strife -- We the people -- Americans make waves -- Return -- A country for heroes? -- Pilgrim or tourist? -- Commemoration or celebration? -- Pilgrims' progress -- Mothers and politics -- Mathilda's victory -- Stars of black and gold -- Highballs on the high seas -- A personal experience
Summary
The United States lost thousands of troops during World War I, and the government gave next-of-kin a choice about what to do with their fallen loved ones: ship them home for burial or leave them permanently in Europe, in makeshift graves that would be eventually transformed into cemeteries in France, Belgium, and England. World War I marked the first war in which the United States government and military took full responsibility for the identification, burial, and memorialization of those killed in battle, and as a result, the process of burying and remembering the dead became intensely politi
