More than 14,000 New Mexicans served in uniform during World War I, and
thousands more contributed to the American home front. Yet today in New
Mexico, as elsewhere, the Great War and the lives it affected are
scarcely remembered. Lest We Forget confronts that amnesia. The first
detailed study to describe New Mexico's wartime mobilization, its
soldiers' combat experiences, and its veterans' postwar lives, the book
offers a poignant account of the profound changes these Americans
underwent both during and after the war.
By focusing on New Mexico, historian David V. Holtby underscores the
challenges New Mexicans faced as they rallied support at home, served in
Europe, and came home as veterans. Income disparity, gender divisions,
political factionalism, and conflict between rural and urban lifeways
all affected the war and its aftermath. Holtby shows how New Mexico
responded to these problems even as it coped with federal action and
inaction.
In more than 1,500 eyewitness statements collected in Spanish and
English not long after the war ended, New Mexicans described the
murderous effects of shrapnel and gas warfare, the impact of the Spanish
influenza, and the many other challenges they faced on the front as
members of the American Expeditionary Forces. Lest We Forget recounts
the background of these soldiers, but it also tells the often-overlooked
story of what happened to New Mexico's veterans after the war. Theirs is
a story of resilience in the face of unfulfilled government promises,
economic reversals, partisan politicizing of the state's American Legion
posts, and the challenges the newly created Veterans Bureau faced as it
was overwhelmed by cases of shell shock (known today as PTSD).
Although New Mexicans' wartime efforts were in some ways unique, their
story ultimately provides a revealing glimpse of the experiences of all
Americans during World War I. A timely reminder of the courage and
tragedy that accompany full-scale modern warfare, Lest We Forget
reminds us of the enduring legacy of a vast international conflict that
had keenly felt and long-lasting repercussions back home.
