Lest We Forget: The U.S. Infantry Division Associations as Custodians of Memory, Commemoration and Military History, 1945-1950

In the immediate post-World War II period, returning American veterans began to form unit Associations. This second phase of commemoration did many things for its membership, including reconnecting former comrades forged by wartime experiences, wrote divisional histories, preserved unit military heritage, and commemorated the sacrifice of comrades that died in service. This phase of veteran initiated commemoration also generated familial and public awareness of the wartime sacrifices of combat veterans throughout the United States.