Recovery as Care Work: The Center for Recovery and Identification of the Missing (CRIM)

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Beyond the Battlefield: The Search for World War II’s Missing in Action by DPAA and Its Partners", at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Care is a fundamental aspect of human life and highlights how communities exhibit relationships of dependency and support as expressions of care. Care is viewed as essential in understanding our shared human experience, however, it is not a fixed attribute but rather a relational concept shaped by social (f)actors.

This paper delves into the recovery work as an institutional project, focusing on policies such as “the army takes care of its own” to provide support and care for military personnel and their families. This project illuminates how Care becomes institutionalized and evolves with each mission. This exploration provides valuable insights into the complexities of Care and its multifaceted role in co-shaping military and civilian relationships through locating, recovering, and repatriating the war dead. These dynamics allows us to gain a deeper understanding of the significance of Carework through CRIM’s partnership with DPAA and its lasting impact on the local communities.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2024   •
• Beyond the Battlefield: The Search for World War II’s Missing in Action by DPAA and Its Partners

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow