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Article: A moving monument to New Hampshire's veterans ; 41 personal testimonies reflect the myriad realities of World War II
- Article from:
- Concord Monitor
- Article date:
- November 9, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2008 Concord Monitor. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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The World War II generation wasn't much on monuments and
memorials. The Revolutionary War is recalled by plaques,
obelisks and equestrian statues from Georgia to Maine. Granite
Yankees and Rebels gaze down from roll-call pedestals on thousands
of village greens and courthouse squares.
But the 20th century was hard on glorification. The stalemate
slaughters of the First World War ground ancient ideals - honor,
splendor, progress - to splinters and shreds. Trench-war veteran
Ernest Hemingway was "embarrassed by the words sacred, glorious, and
sacrifice. . . . I had seen nothing sacred, and the things that were
glorious had no glory and the sacrifices were like the stockyards at
Chicago if ...