"Their Flag and Skulls Are Ours": Corporeal Trophy Taking in the Pacific War
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Date
2012
Authors
Erickson, Lucas
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Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
This thesis explores the taking of Japanese remains as trophies by American servicemen during the Second World War in the Pacific. It examines the historical and contemporary motives for American trophy taking in modern warfare and shows that corporeal trophy taking was both prevalent and multifaceted and how Japanese war materials and bodies were repurposed into trophied objects that were recorded, kept, displayed, exchanged, and even celebrated both in the battlefield and on the home front. This study also recognizes and analyzes relatively new and useful sources of evidence, such as recently published memoirs, artifacts, and digital social media, to expand our understanding of corporeal trophy taking as it occurred during the Pacific War.
Description
Keywords
Corporeal Trophies, Pacific War, World War II