The World Wars left to posterity tens of millions of combat veterans who returned home physically and psychologically transformed. They faced all kinds of problems related to their social reintegration. This article examines the social reintegration processes of North-American, French and English ex-combatants from both World Wars. The main conclusion is that, more than the existence or not of a support structure and programs to reintegrate combatants into society, the decisive factor for success or failure in reintegration was the relationship of civilian society to the war. In other words, the civilian population's level of acceptance of their youngsters' participation in the conflicts, as well as the social memory of the wars, had a deep effect on the ways these millions of young people were able to return to their social and professional lives.
war veterans; First World War; Second World War