BY

This paper looks at the preservation of war memories in a society that has experienced war. It therefore examines the use of war memorials within specific periods in the rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-combatants in Zimbabwe. It puts the Memorable Order of Tin Hats (MOTH) at the centre as a non-state sponsored initiative that came into being as a result of individuals who were concerned with the welfare of disillusioned and marginalised ex-combatants. In light of this, the paper points out that in the event of little or no state support, organisations such as MOTH and the British Empire Service League (BESL) become key players in assisting veterans by providing rehabilitation and reintegration support through the use of war memorials and remembrance sites. It is against this background that the paper discusses the role of memory in the demobilisation and rehabilitation process and how MOTH as an organisation preserved such war memories through performance, geography and monuments. War memorials operate at an experiential level where it recalls wartime and immediate post-war experiences. For instance, insignias, medals, the tombs of remembrance and even the names remind one of the dreaded past. Thus, it contributes to the discourse of “remembering and re-membering.