I Remember: Chicago Veterans of War weaves together the memories of fifty veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. These vets were asked to submit any number of "I remember" statements - to recall the small and large of their war experiences.

The book lists veterans' memories one after the next with numbers instead of names in the margin to signal each new voice. Readers can, when and if they choose, check the Biography section in the back of the book to match a number and its associated memories with the name of a veteran and his or her background. The system of numbering is meant to be vaguely militaristic - a way of foregrounding the contrast between a soldier's number or unit and the unique human story of every war.

This anonymous structure foregrounds the similarities of all wars. The effect is of one veteran speaking of the shock and scale of every modern war.

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