Robert D. Schulzinger
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195365924
- eISBN:
- 9780199851966
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195365924.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
During the campaign leading to the election of 1980, Ronald Reagan referred regularly to the lessons of the Vietnam War. He insisted that the Vietnam War had been “a noble cause” in which Americans ...
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During the campaign leading to the election of 1980, Ronald Reagan referred regularly to the lessons of the Vietnam War. He insisted that the Vietnam War had been “a noble cause” in which Americans had fought and died selflessly. Instead of refraining from the use of military power in the wake of the disaster of Vietnam, Reagan recommended that the United States commit more resources to the armed forces. Reagan easily defeated Jimmy Carter, and for the first time in a generation the Republican Party had a majority in the Senate. The Reagan administration entered the fray in Central America to gain advantages in the competition with the Soviet Union in other areas of the world, while reaffirming its support of the economic embargo against Vietnam. Two problematic issues hindering improvement in diplomatic relations between the two countries were the continuing flow of refugees from Vietnam and service personnel listed as missing in action. Reagan's Vietnam policy rested squarely in the center of American politics.Less
During the campaign leading to the election of 1980, Ronald Reagan referred regularly to the lessons of the Vietnam War. He insisted that the Vietnam War had been “a noble cause” in which Americans had fought and died selflessly. Instead of refraining from the use of military power in the wake of the disaster of Vietnam, Reagan recommended that the United States commit more resources to the armed forces. Reagan easily defeated Jimmy Carter, and for the first time in a generation the Republican Party had a majority in the Senate. The Reagan administration entered the fray in Central America to gain advantages in the competition with the Soviet Union in other areas of the world, while reaffirming its support of the economic embargo against Vietnam. Two problematic issues hindering improvement in diplomatic relations between the two countries were the continuing flow of refugees from Vietnam and service personnel listed as missing in action. Reagan's Vietnam policy rested squarely in the center of American politics.
Jenny Edkins
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801450297
- eISBN:
- 9780801462795
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801450297.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter examines the efforts devoted to the identification of those missing in action after the Vietnam War. It considers the tensions produced by the identification of remains as well as the ...
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This chapter examines the efforts devoted to the identification of those missing in action after the Vietnam War. It considers the tensions produced by the identification of remains as well as the manner of burial and commemoration of casualties of war—a struggle over the bodies of the dead. It argues that these struggles arise in part because of the ambiguity of citizen armies. It shows that relatives of missing in action insist on the demobilization of bodies after a conflict—the return of those lost in war to civilian status and full personhood, and the return of their bodies for burial at home. It also discusses the role of women volunteers in the search for missing in action and in setting up tracing systems.Less
This chapter examines the efforts devoted to the identification of those missing in action after the Vietnam War. It considers the tensions produced by the identification of remains as well as the manner of burial and commemoration of casualties of war—a struggle over the bodies of the dead. It argues that these struggles arise in part because of the ambiguity of citizen armies. It shows that relatives of missing in action insist on the demobilization of bodies after a conflict—the return of those lost in war to civilian status and full personhood, and the return of their bodies for burial at home. It also discusses the role of women volunteers in the search for missing in action and in setting up tracing systems.
Jenny Edkins
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801450297
- eISBN:
- 9780801462795
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801450297.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Stories of missing persons offer profound insights into the tension between how political systems see us and how we see each other. The search for people who go missing as a result of war, political ...
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Stories of missing persons offer profound insights into the tension between how political systems see us and how we see each other. The search for people who go missing as a result of war, political violence, genocide, or natural disaster reveals how forms of governance that objectify the person are challenged. Contemporary political systems treat persons instrumentally, as objects to be administered rather than as singular beings: the apparatus of government recognizes categories, not people. In contrast, relatives of the missing demand that authorities focus on a particular person: families and friends are looking for someone who to them is unique and irreplaceable. This book highlights stories from a range of circumstances that shed light on this critical tension: the aftermath of World War II, when millions in Europe were displaced; the period following the fall of the World Trade Center towers in Manhattan in 2001 and the London bombings of July 2005; searches for military personnel missing in action; the thousands of political “disappearances” in Latin America; and in more quotidian circumstances where people walk out on their families and disappear of their own volition. When someone goes missing we often find that we didn't know them as well as we thought: there is a sense in which we are “missing” even to our nearest and dearest and even when we are present, not absent. This book investigates what this more profound “missingness” might mean in political terms.Less
Stories of missing persons offer profound insights into the tension between how political systems see us and how we see each other. The search for people who go missing as a result of war, political violence, genocide, or natural disaster reveals how forms of governance that objectify the person are challenged. Contemporary political systems treat persons instrumentally, as objects to be administered rather than as singular beings: the apparatus of government recognizes categories, not people. In contrast, relatives of the missing demand that authorities focus on a particular person: families and friends are looking for someone who to them is unique and irreplaceable. This book highlights stories from a range of circumstances that shed light on this critical tension: the aftermath of World War II, when millions in Europe were displaced; the period following the fall of the World Trade Center towers in Manhattan in 2001 and the London bombings of July 2005; searches for military personnel missing in action; the thousands of political “disappearances” in Latin America; and in more quotidian circumstances where people walk out on their families and disappear of their own volition. When someone goes missing we often find that we didn't know them as well as we thought: there is a sense in which we are “missing” even to our nearest and dearest and even when we are present, not absent. This book investigates what this more profound “missingness” might mean in political terms.
Natasha Zaretsky
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780807830949
- eISBN:
- 9781469604428
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/9780807867808_zaretsky.5
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This chapter examines the Nixon administration's 1968–1973 publicity campaign to call the public's attention to the plight of American prisoners of war (POWs) and their families and how it combined ...
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This chapter examines the Nixon administration's 1968–1973 publicity campaign to call the public's attention to the plight of American prisoners of war (POWs) and their families and how it combined the themes of military defeat abroad and male absenteeism within the home by featuring ubiquitous images of families without fathers. It shows how these images, originally intended to sanctify the national cause with regard to the Vietnam War, took on new meanings as POW wives—influenced by the rise of feminism—became more independent in their husbands' absences and did not want to relinquish it upon repatriation. The chapter also discusses the theme of male absenteeism in relation to those missing in action, and how it translated into a critique of a supposedly weak and corrupt federal government that had “left men behind”.Less
This chapter examines the Nixon administration's 1968–1973 publicity campaign to call the public's attention to the plight of American prisoners of war (POWs) and their families and how it combined the themes of military defeat abroad and male absenteeism within the home by featuring ubiquitous images of families without fathers. It shows how these images, originally intended to sanctify the national cause with regard to the Vietnam War, took on new meanings as POW wives—influenced by the rise of feminism—became more independent in their husbands' absences and did not want to relinquish it upon repatriation. The chapter also discusses the theme of male absenteeism in relation to those missing in action, and how it translated into a critique of a supposedly weak and corrupt federal government that had “left men behind”.
Robert D. Schulzinger
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195365924
- eISBN:
- 9780199851966
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195365924.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
The Vietnam War left wounds that have taken three decades to heal — indeed some scars remain even today. This book sheds light on how deeply-etched memories of this conflict have altered America's ...
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The Vietnam War left wounds that have taken three decades to heal — indeed some scars remain even today. This book sheds light on how deeply-etched memories of this conflict have altered America's political, social, and cultural landscape. It examines the impact of the war from many angles. It traces the path of reconciliation with Vietnam, the heated controversy over soldiers who were missing in action, the influx of over a million Vietnam refugees into the United States, and the plight of Vietnam veterans, many of whom returned home alienated, unhappy, and unappreciated. It looks at how the controversies of the war have continued to be fought in books and films and, perhaps most important, it explores the power of the Vietnam metaphor on foreign policy, particularly in Central America, Somalia, the Gulf War, and the war in Iraq.Less
The Vietnam War left wounds that have taken three decades to heal — indeed some scars remain even today. This book sheds light on how deeply-etched memories of this conflict have altered America's political, social, and cultural landscape. It examines the impact of the war from many angles. It traces the path of reconciliation with Vietnam, the heated controversy over soldiers who were missing in action, the influx of over a million Vietnam refugees into the United States, and the plight of Vietnam veterans, many of whom returned home alienated, unhappy, and unappreciated. It looks at how the controversies of the war have continued to be fought in books and films and, perhaps most important, it explores the power of the Vietnam metaphor on foreign policy, particularly in Central America, Somalia, the Gulf War, and the war in Iraq.
Lary May
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781479861958
- eISBN:
- 9781479878680
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479861958.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
The first chapter, by Lary May, begins with the familiar observation about the dramatic rise in punitiveness in late-twentieth-century America and contends that turning to popular movies offers a ...
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The first chapter, by Lary May, begins with the familiar observation about the dramatic rise in punitiveness in late-twentieth-century America and contends that turning to popular movies offers a fresh explanation of why this political shift occurred. May concentrates on a body of crime films that emerged in the early 1970s and lasted in one form or another until the early 1990s. He calls these “backlash films” and asserts they were promoters of the Republican Party and its right wing. The films included Clint Eastwood’s five Dirty Harry movies, Charles Bronson’s eight Death Wish movies, and Chuck Norris’s movies on the same theme, Good Guys Wear Black, Missing in Action, and Code of Silence. They expressed in vivid form a narrative at once hostile to liberalism and tough on crime, while promising a rebirth of security and middle-class virtue in the wake of defeat in Vietnam, the rise of youthful countercultures, and the eruption of race riots in major American cities, all of which sparked a pervasive desire for law and order.Less
The first chapter, by Lary May, begins with the familiar observation about the dramatic rise in punitiveness in late-twentieth-century America and contends that turning to popular movies offers a fresh explanation of why this political shift occurred. May concentrates on a body of crime films that emerged in the early 1970s and lasted in one form or another until the early 1990s. He calls these “backlash films” and asserts they were promoters of the Republican Party and its right wing. The films included Clint Eastwood’s five Dirty Harry movies, Charles Bronson’s eight Death Wish movies, and Chuck Norris’s movies on the same theme, Good Guys Wear Black, Missing in Action, and Code of Silence. They expressed in vivid form a narrative at once hostile to liberalism and tough on crime, while promising a rebirth of security and middle-class virtue in the wake of defeat in Vietnam, the rise of youthful countercultures, and the eruption of race riots in major American cities, all of which sparked a pervasive desire for law and order.