In today's volunteer military many recruits enlist for the educational benefits, yet a significant number of veterans struggle in the classroom, and many drop out. The difficulties faced by student veterans have been attributed to various factors: poor academic preparation, PTSD and other postwar ailments, and allegedly antimilitary sentiments on college campuses. In Grateful Nation Ellen Moore challenges these narratives by tracing the experiences of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans at two California college campuses. Drawing on interviews with dozens of veterans, classroom observations, and assessments of the work of veteran support organizations, Moore finds that veterans' academic struggles result from their military training and combat experience, which complicate their ability to function in civilian schools. While there is little evidence of antimilitary bias on college campuses, Moore demonstrates the ways in which college programs that conflate support for veterans with support for the institutional military lead to suppression of campus debate about the wars, discourage antiwar activism, and encourage a growing militarization.

"Through extensive work with hundreds of veterans and a detailed investigation into veterans in college, Ellen Moore has powerfully illuminated and analyzed the ways the military has strategically positioned itself in US society. She has done something unique and powerful in the scholarship of war and peace—a work that should be broadly disseminated and debated." - Huffington Post

"“Grateful Nation raises important insights as to what the veterans’ presence on campus might mean. And, much like the paratrooper’s rucksack, there is a lot in Grateful Nation to unpack.”" - Military Review

"An insightful new book. Grateful Nation will contribute to both future research and practice among those who study and work on questions related to veterans and to higher education." - Social Forces

"Due to its wide-ranging theoretical grounding and implications, Grateful Nation is a strong contribution for those interested in a variety of topics including education, militarism, and veteran experiences. This is an excellent book for those who work with student veterans and want to engage in depth with the complexity of this student population." - American Journal of Sociology