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xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The pursuit of collective memory has been a fascinating journey, one that has taken me throughout the United States and Mexico. Many kind and generous people on both sides of the border have assisted me along the way. At the University of Utah, Robert Goldberg has devoted considerable energy to this project, and I am thankful for his patience, honesty, and wisdom . I am likewise grateful to Eric Hinderaker, Rebecca Horn, Ray Gunn, and Margaret Brady for their guidance. I am also appreciative of Antonio Zavaleta, Philip Kendall, and my former colleagues at the University of Texas at Brownsville for all of their support. A finer group of mentors and friends would be hard to find. I want to recognize the pioneering work of Robert W. Johannsen, Shelley Streeby, Steven R. Butler, Maria Elena García Muñoz, Ernesto Fritsche Aceves, Pedro Santoni, Enrique Plasencia de la Parra, and Josefina Zoraida Vázquez. The varied perspectives of these gifted scholars provided a firm foundation upon which I built my research. Professors Butler, Santoni, and Vázquez were particularly thoughtful in answering my many queries as I developed this project. I have also benefited greatly from my association with Douglas A. Murphy at the Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park and Maritza Arrigunaga Coello at the University of Texas at Arlington . Both generously shared their extensive knowledge and experience with me. My month at the Clements Center for Southwest Studies also had a significant impact on my work. Andrea Boardman, David J. Weber, Benjamin Johnson, and Ruth Ann Elmore made me at home and assisted in my reconceptualization of the U.S.–Mexican War. Professor Weber’s death in 2010 is a terrible loss for those of us who had the pleasure of knowing him. Many other scholars have influenced me during this endeavor. I am particularly grateful to Matthew Bowman, Martha Bradley, Charles Carrillo, John Chávez, Ronald Coleman, Christopher Conway, Natasha Escobar, Richard Francaviglia, Jenkins Garrett, Miguel Ángel González Quiroga, Richard Lowe, Manuel Medrano, Rubén Mendoza, James Mills, Jared Montoya,Alan Morrell, Jon Moyer, Paul Reeve, Clemente Rendón, Miguel Soto, Amanda xii Acknowledgments Taylor-Montoya, Juan Paco Urrusti, Lola Van Wagenen, Richard Bruce Winders , and David Wrobel for their assistance. In addition, dozens of people have patiently allowed me to pry into their personal lives as I sought to understand the workings of memory. While I am thankful to them all, I owe a particular debt to Oscar Arriola, Rod Bates, Richard Hoag Breithaupt Jr., Christopher Fischer, and Walter Plitt for answering my many follow-up questions. Several individuals have graciously facilitated my work at museums, historic sites, and archives in the United States and Mexico. They include Donaly Brice, Enriqueta Cabrera, Kathryn Encinas, Sherman L. Fleek, Kristie French, Rolando Garza, Ben Huseman, Hector de Jesus, Brenda McClurkin, Eric Reuther, Kathy Rome, Carlos Rugiero, Richard Schachtsiek, William “Wild Bill” Slaughter, Luis Torres, Karen Weaver, and Lea Worcester. I am also indebted to Hiroko Hashitani, Susan Brusik, and the Interlibrary Loan staff at the Marriott Library at the University of Utah for locating hundreds of rare books for my research. As I worked my way through stacks of Spanish-language sources, it was also reassuring to know that I could count on David Delgado, Esmeralda Polanco, Silvia Vázquez, and Sam Allen for assistance with translations. I am thankful to the Marriner S. Eccles Graduate Fellowship in Political Economy at the University of Utah for underwriting two years of my work. I am also appreciative of the Clements Center–DeGolyer Library Research Grant at Southern Methodist University, which gave me vital opportunities to conduct archival research. In addition, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, the Office of External Affairs at University of Texas at Brownsville, the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies at Brigham Young University, and the Tanner Humanities Center at the University of Utah all generously provided funding for my various travels. I am also thankful to the journal Military History of the West at the University of North Texas for allowing me to republish my earlier research on U.S.–Mexican War veterans. My experience with University of Massachusetts Press has been wonderful . I am especially grateful to Marla Miller for being an early supporter of this project. I would also like to thank Amy S. Greenberg and Kirk Savage for reviewing early drafts of my manuscript and providing me with supportive feedback. My editors at the press, Clark Dougan and...

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