From Sorrow to Activism: A Father's Memorial to His Son Alexander Arredondo, Killed in the U.S. Occupation of Iraq

Abstract

After his son Alexander was killed in the Iraq War, Carlos Arredondo created a memorial to honor him. Using enlarged photographs, a coffin, and Alex's military uniform and boots, Arredondo created a portable tribute to his son. The memorial provides him with a way to work through his grief while simultaneously asking viewers to contemplate the consequences of the war. Distinctively shaped by dimensions of race and ethnicity, class, gender, and national identity, the memorial challenges governmental efforts to obfuscate the deaths caused by the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq.