Thank you, Sam, for that interesting article. The contrast between US and UK folk memories of the war is apt, in my experience. Belleau Wood shows up in Mel Gibson's recent Hacksaw Ridge, with the father arriving at the court martial in full WW I uniform and recalling his service at Belleau Wood.
We had a big book on that war in my childhood which as I recall mostly displayed both sides' propaganda. Fenton's tone recalls my childhood memories of those somewhat absurdly jingoistic images. They do something to encapsulate WW I for me, and form a fitting backdrop to Britain's war poets and to Erich Maria Remarque.
Also - could it have been Taps we heard at my UK boarding school every November 11th, as we stood outside for a minute in silence?
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