What happened to veterans of the nations involved in the world wars? How did they fare when they returned home and needed benefits? How were they recognized — or not — by their governments and fellow citizens? Where and under what circumstances did they obtain an elevated postwar status? This book examines veterans' struggles for entitlements and benefits in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Taiwan, the Soviet Union, China, Germany, and Australia after both global conflicts. It illuminates how veterans' success or failure in winning benefits were affected by a range of factors that ... More

What happened to veterans of the nations involved in the world wars? How did they fare when they returned home and needed benefits? How were they recognized — or not — by their governments and fellow citizens? Where and under what circumstances did they obtain an elevated postwar status? This book examines veterans' struggles for entitlements and benefits in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Taiwan, the Soviet Union, China, Germany, and Australia after both global conflicts. It illuminates how veterans' success or failure in winning benefits were affected by a range of factors that shaped their ability to exert political influence. Some veterans' groups fought politicians for improvements to their postwar lives; this lobbying, the book shows, could set the foundation for beneficial veteran treatment regimes or weaken the political forces proposing unfavorable policies. The book highlights cases of veterans who secured (and in some cases failed to secure) benefits and status after wars both won and lost; within both democratic and authoritarian polities; under liberal, conservative, and even Leninist governments; after wars fought by volunteers or conscripts, at home or abroad, and for legitimate or subsequently discredited causes. Veterans who succeeded did so, for the most part, by forcing their agendas through lobbying, protesting, and mobilizing public support. The book provides a large-scale map for a research field with a future: comparative veteran studies.