Latina/os and World War II

<p>The first book-length study of Latina/o experiences in World War II over a wide spectrum of identities and ancestries-from Cuban American Spanish American and Mexican American segments to the under-studied Afro-Latino experience-<i>Latina/os and World War II</i> probes the controversial aspects of Latina/o soldiering and citizenship in the war the repercussions of which defined the West during the twentieth century. The editors also offer a revised more accurate tabulation of the number of Latina/os who served in the war.</p> <p>Spanning imaginative productions such as vaudeville and the masculinity of the <i>soldado razo</i> theatrical performances; military segregation and the postwar lives of veterans; Tejanas on the homefront; journalism and youth activism; and other underreported aspects of the wartime experience the essays collected in this volume showcase rarely seen recollections. Whether living in Florida in a transformed community or deployed far from home (including Mexican Americans who were forced to endure the Bataan Death March) the men and women depicted in this collection yield a multidisciplinary metacritical inquiry. The result is a study that challenges celebratory accounts and deepens the level of scholarly inquiry into the realm of ideological mobility for a unique cultural crossroads. Taking this complex history beyond the realm of war narratives <i>Latina/os and World War II</i> situates these chapters within the broader themes of identity and social change that continue to reverberate in postcolonial lives.</p>