“Allison Finkelstein’s book expands our knowledge of the women who served the nation in a time of war, and who wanted their work to be remembered. She recovers not just the work they did, but their attempts to commemorate it in ways that honored and ‘paid forward’ their commitments to serving others. They did this, as she shows, not just by erecting monuments, but by forming ‘living memorials’ such as buildings and schools but also less tangible things such as advocacy work and providing financial support. These “veteranists” worked to make the public see women not just as war-time volunteers but as veterans, in their own right, even though many of them had worked in non-official and non-governmental capacities.”
—Pearl James, author of The New Death: American Modernism and World War I and editor of Picture This!
“Forgotten Veterans, Invisible Memorials not only adds to the study of American memory of the war by including service to others as a form of remembrance, but by shedding light on the ways women sought full recognition for their service as veterans on par with that accorded men.”
—Kimberly J. Lamay Licursi, author of Remembering World War I in America
“In Forgotten Veterans, Invisible Memorials, Allison Finkelstein expands the idea of commemoration to more intangible expressions of postwar mourning in the form of living memorials…Finkelstein’s book is an engaging history of the creative ways women sought to publicize their war work and their postwar challenges, and she does a good job of explaining who had access to these societies and who did not.”
—Tammy M. Proctor for the Journal of Military History
“This book importantly shifts the lens of analysis from men to women’s experiences of the First World War for a different perspective of memorialization. The author challenges readers, also, to expand their definition of the term ‘veteran’ to include all people—including women and civilians—who were voluntarily or involuntarily affected by the war. She importantly identifies that veteranist memorializations were intangible, significant in impact but short-lived in cultural memory, contributing to their historical silence.… [Finkelstein] presents an innovative framework for reevaluating the political nature and legacy of American women’s wartime contributions.”
—Kathryn Angelica for H-Net Reviews
“The book underscores the need for continued discussion and recognition of U.S. women’s varied roles in World War I.”
—Elizabeth Foxwell, author of the American Women in World War I blog
“Finkelstein’s incredibly researched title is an invaluable asset. She deftly weaves primary sources to identify the new patterns of remembrance and action that were present following and during WWI. “
—Master Wings Publishing recommendation
Awards
2022 Arline Custer Memorial Award from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC)
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC) selected Forgotten Veterans, Invisible Memorials: How American Women Commemorated the Great War, 1917-1945 as the winner of the 2022 Arline Custer Memorial Award. Presented by an organization of professional archivists, this award recognizes the best book published by an individual in the Mid-Atlantic region.
2023 Society for History in the Federal Government Excellence in New Media Award
Dr. Finkelstein was part of the team awarded the 2023 Society for History in the Federal Government’s Excellence in New Media Award for the Arlington National Cemetery History Office’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Centennial Program (Tomb 100).
2020 National Alliance for Preservation Commissions Excellence Award in the category of Best Practices: Public Outreach/Advocacy
As the Chair of the Arlington County World War I Commemoration Task Force, Dr. Finkelstein played a leading part in the creation of interpretive panels at the Clarendon War Memorial. The National Alliance of Preservation Commissions recognized this project with the 2020 Excellence Award in the category of Best Practices: Public Outreach/Advocacy.
2019 Society for History in the Federal Government Excellence in New Media Award
Dr. Finkelstein was part of the team who received this award for the documentary film, “USCIS and the Legacy of Ellis Island”
