Heroes of the Community? Interrogating the Public Memories of Pat Tillman and Lori Piestewa

• In Event: Appalachia, Abu Ghraib, Las Vegas, and War Heroes: Collective Memory, Identity, and Place

Abstract

This paper applies public memory and critical race theory perspectives in order to analyze the ways in which the Phoenix, AZ community has come to commemorate the memory of two soldiers, Pat Tillman and Lori Piestewa, who had ties to the area. The ideograph of hero is applied to both of these people in order to understand who gets remembered under this moniker, and what this says about the public memory of the community.

Author

• Christina C. Colp-Hansbury, Arizona State University