This article is a conversation between five specialists of veterans’ history on the current direction of the field and its importance to the study of war and society. The discussants offer an an overview of current methodologies, definitions and historiographical approaches. Concentrating on the experiences of twentieth-century veterans (particularly after 1945) and using a diverse range of case studies from across the world, this article also asks what connections bound veteran communities together, and how we as historians might conceptualise veterans: as a class, as a collective, or as a far looser grouping of individuals? Finally, this article explores what distinguishes veteranhood after 1945 and the evolving relationship between veterans and the memory of conflict.

本文是五位退伍军人历史专家关于该领域当前方向及其对战争和社会研究的重要性的对话。讨论者对当前的方法，定义和史学方法进行了概述。着重于20世纪退伍军人的经历（尤其是1945年之后），并使用来自世界各地的各种案例研究，本文还询问了什么联系将退伍军人社区联系在一起，以及我们作为历史学家如何将退伍军人概念化： ，作为一个集体，还是作为一个更为宽松的个人组合？最后，本文探讨了1945年后退伍军人身份的区别以及退伍军人与冲突记忆之间不断发展的关系。