The Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Known as “the Wall,” this is the most visited of the war memorials in Washington D.C. and certainly one of the most powerful war images ever created. It is impossible to walk by the sloped black granite 492-foot wall and not feel overwhelmed by the loss of lives. The wall is carved with the 58,249 names of those who were killed during the Vietnam War.
The earliest recorded casualty dates from 1959, the last from 1975, and each is marked with either a diamond to denote a confirmed death or a cross to indicate that the remains were not found. There is a black bound book at the start of the memorial that lists the names of the dead.
This memorial is usually crowded, and viewers pass by the reflective wall in a single file. Relatives and friends of those whose names are inscribed on the wall often leave flowers, flags, and tokens or make a charcoal rubbing of their loved one's name. Park rangers collect the offerings at the end of each day, and a small sample is on display in the National Museum of American History. Park rangers will also provide a printout on the information for a specific name, as well as paper for rubbing.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Controversy
The design for the Wall was considered highly controversial in 1982, when it was erected. Yale architecture student Maya Ying Lin, then only 22, won the competition sponsored by a private organization, and many were disturbed that the memorial did not follow more traditional war motifs.
Lin's stark design of a simple black granite wall bearing the names of the American soldiers who died in Vietnam was so different from all the war memorials in Washington that it immediately received criticism from just about every veterans' group, as well as special-interest groups and some politicians.
Critics cast aspersions on her vision, her ability, her talent, her age, and her gender. Some called it “dishonorable” and “a scar.” But Maya Lin stayed firm to her vision for “the Wall” and refused to change her design. “I believed that this was going to help people,” she said of her work.
Her entry described her vision for the Wall as follows:
Walking through this park, the memorial appears as a rift in the earth. A long, polished, black stone, emerging from and receding into the earth. Approaching the memorial, the ground slopes gently downward and the low walls emerging on either side, growing out of the earth, extend and converge at a point below and ahead. Walking into this grassy site contained by the walls of the memorial, we can barely make out the carved names upon the memorial's walls. These names, seemingly infinite in number, convey the overwhelming numbers, while unifying these individuals into a whole. The memorial is composed not as an unchanging monument, but as a moving composition to be understood as we move into and out of it.
FAST FACT
In the neighboring Constitution Gardens, there are two traditional sculptures dedicated to the soldiers of Vietnam and the female Vietnam veterans. Frederick Hart designed Three Servicemen, and Gloria Goodacre designed the Vietnam Women's Memorial.
In the nearly 20 years since the memorial was erected, it has been accepted as a brilliant memorial to the sorrow and loss that most Americans feel when looking back on this war.
Location and Hours
To reach the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, take the Metro to Foggy Bottom 9 Blue or Orange Line). The Memorial is located on Constitution Avenue and 23rd Street, NW, in Constitution Gardens, just northeast of the Lincoln Memorial. The memorial is open year-round from 8 A.M. to midnight. Closed December 25.
