ABSTRACT
This chapter considers how members of the British and American Legions oriented themselves in relation to Second World War servicemen, tracing how the juxtaposition of these two 'war times' transformed memory narratives of the First World War. The Second World War prompted a re-evaluation, but not a complete abandonment, of the 'brotherhood of the trenches' camaraderie concept that initially anchored the British and American Legions. The chapter explores how the conceptualisations changed in response to the Second World War and its generation, focusing on the subjects of shared war aims, service life, and the rhetoric of kinship. The characterisations of the American Legion as a political player and the British Legion as a charity conventionally found in historiography reflect the divergent historical approaches to veteran support and status in each nation. Comparing aspects of service life between the two world wars brought out commonalities as well as disparities, and discussants used both to strengthen notions of trans-generational comradeship.
