Summary

Chapter Two explores the ethics of remembering primarily from an American perspective. The chapter opens with a series of observations of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., which Nguyen calls the “black wall” (47). Nguyen notes that Vietnam War veterans were originally marginalized, viewed as losers, and blamed for fighting in an unpopular war. The memorial is the most significant in a series of projects, including films and other testimonials, that restored the opinion of American soldiers. This, in turn, justified future wars in Grenada, Kuwait, and Iraq, during which Americans were encouraged to support their troops, even if they opposed the war being fought. Nguyen is troubled by this idea, suggesting that volunteer soldiers, as all American troops now are, must bear some responsibility for their role in immoral wars. It also unjustly absolves civilians, who support wars with their votes and...