Memorial stickers, continuing bonds, and meaning-making among israeli infantry soldiers

This qualitative study examined how the spontaneous use of memorial stickers served meaning-making and coping with traumatic loss among 42 Israeli infantry soldiers characterized by survivor guilt and moral obligation. The study framed this non-institutional action within theories of continuing bonds, meaning-making, and vernacular memorialization. The findings revealed four central themes that clarified the role of the sticker: the sticker as an externalized continuing bond that allowed for identity integration in everyday space; the transformation of survivor guilt into a sense of mission and moral obligation; the creation of mobile shrines that strengthened group cohesion; and the use of the sticker as a counter-memory that protected the authenticity of memory against institutional uniformity. Finally, the study suggested that vernacular memorialization may serve as a clinical tool for processing loss and restoring a sense of control following trauma.