Jim, et al.,

This is not new to history. "Damnatio memoriae," Latin for damnation of memory.

http://www.ancient-origins.net/history/damnation-memory-and-efforts-erase-condemned-history-002331

It is usually done when a culture is in decline and not the ascendancy. I will be speaking at a Memorial Day remembrance on Memorial Day in Jasper, Georgia and it will be my topic.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Respectfully,

Gerald D. Hodge, Jr.
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired)
M.A. Military History - Civil War Concentration
Research - Preservation
Historian: 39th Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment
http://39thgavolinfrgt.homestead.com/39thHomepage.html
Athens, Tennessee