Wars Are Fought Twice: Once On the Battlefield and Again Later In Memory

Nguyen’s overall thesis relies on his view that wars are fought twice: after being fought on the battlefield, wars are fought again in memory. Just as two or more sides face each other in physical battles, various collective memories compete to be dominant in the war’s aftermath. This relates to Nguyen’s argument that wars do not have fixed start and end dates. Though battles may cease, the effects of the war are still felt through memory. Accordingly, nations deploy industries of memory, alongside to their military war machines, to preserve their favored memory of the war, justify future wars, and shape their national identity. These industries go on beyond the personal, and cultivate collective memories on a mass scale according to the dictates of influential institutions and individuals. Nguyen demonstrates that the war...