Planning Memory: Living Memorials in the United States during World War II

This article argues that, as the recent acrimony over the National Memorial to World War II in Washington, D.C. makes evident, Americans have a memorial problem, a typological quandary that points to a deep discomfort with memorials and memorial practices as they have developed since World War II. This essay explores the roots of this discomfort through an analysis of the wartime debate on memorials, in particular, the rhetoric of living memorial advocates.