Warring over Valor : How Race and Gender Shaped American Military Heroism in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries / Simon Wendt.

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Introduction: Reconsidering Military Heroism in American History / Wendt, Simon -- 1. The End of Military Heroism? The American Legion and "Service" between the Wars / Lewis, George -- 2. GI Joe Nisei: The Invention of World War II's Iconic Japanese American Soldier / Wu, Ellen D. -- 3. Instrument of Subjugation or Avenue for Liberation? Black Military Heroism from World War II to the Vietnam War / Wendt, Simon -- 4. "Warriors in Uniform": Race, Masculinity, and Martial Valor among Native American Veterans from the Great War to Vietnam and Beyond / Voigt, Matthias -- 5. My Lai: The Crisis of American Military Heroism in the Vietnam War / Estes, Steve -- 6. Leonard Matlovich: From Military Hero to Gay Rights Poster Boy / Hall, Simon -- 7. Displaying Heroism: Media Images of the Weary Soldier in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War / Lucker, Amy -- 8. "From Louboutins to Combat Boots"? The Negotiation of a Twenty-First-Century Female Warrior Image in American Popular Culture and Literature / Makeschin, Sarah -- 9. From Warrior to Soldier? Lakota Veterans on Military Valor / John, Sonja -- 10. Virtual Warfare: Video Games, Drones, and the Reimagination of Heroic Masculinity / Andersen, Carrie -- Acknowledgments -- Notes on Contributors -- Index

By focusing on how the idea of heroism on the battlefield helped construct, perpetuate, and challenge racial and gender hierarchies in the United States between World War I and the present, Warring over Valor provides fresh perspectives on the history of American military heroism. The book offers two major insights into the history of military heroism. First, it reveals a precarious ambiguity in the efforts of minorities such as African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, women, and gay men to be recognized as heroic soldiers. Paradoxically, America's heroism discourse allowed them to press their case for full membership in the nation, but doing so simultaneously validated the dichotomous interpretations of race and gender they repudiated. The ambiguous role of marginalized groups in war-related hero-making processes also testifies to this volume's second general insight: the durability and tenacity of the masculine warrior hero in U.S. society and culture. Warring over Valor bridges a gap in the historiography of heroism and military affairs.

In English.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 04. Sep 2019).

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