The Living Unknown Solider Analysis

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The Living Unknown Solider, expressed the hope and despair citizens of France felt after a man had been found with no name and no recollection of who he was during the First World War. Citizens of France felt despair because many families were given the notice that their loved one had gone missing. This left a deep hole in the mourning process and the man with no name brought new hope to families who received this information. This man was given the name Anthelme Mangin and he was placed in an asylum where he was questioned continuously to determine his true identity. His true identity was never found, but that did not stop his legacy from providing families with new faith that their missing son, husband, father, or brother would return home. Families used the Unknown Soldier as a reason to continue to fight for …show more content…
With no body, no tomb, and no death certificate it was unimaginable how anyone could accept such a fate for a loved one. Soldiers were equipped with metal tags bearing their first and last names with the date of induction on one side and the registration number on the other. At times during the war, when a side retreated there was no retrieval of the dead and if there were vast casualties the dead would be buried rapidly. With the vast casualties and displacement of bodies it was difficult for France to identify and notify all the families. Many were left with the notification that their loved one had gone missing which made it difficult to have any final mourning. Soldiers found it in their duty to inform their comrade’s families of their loss. Germany and France worked to reduce the number of missing soldiers through the use of the dog tag system and reducing the mass burials. This allowed more families to receive the death certificate and not a status of missing which then helped to continue the mourning

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