The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in DC is one of the most memorable place for me. During our DC by Foot tour, we learned about the story behind the design by Maya Lin.
There was such a controversial during the selection of the winning design by her due to her ethnicity during that time. The memorial is simple but yet has evoked such emotion when you visit. I don't know anyone personally who has died during the Vietnam war. But as you walked down the path and scanned through the name of men and women on the carved black granite stone, and you saw the reflection of yourself and other visitors, you can't help but shed your tears.
I love her quote that she wrote upon entering her design to the VVMF .
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. The passage itself is gradual; the descent to the origin slow, but it is at the origin that the Memorial is to be fully understood. At the intersection of these walls, on the right side, is carved the date of the first death. It is followed by the names of those who died in the war, in chronological order. These names continue on this wall appearing to recede into the earth at the wall's end. The names resume on the left wall as the wall emerges from the earth, continuing back to the origin where the date of the last death is carved.
5 comments:
I used to go to the memorial often, I remember it before it changed to what it is now. It's just a lovely place, and should always be regarded as such. Sometimes there's parties and the whole point of what it stands for is forgotten.
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It's a beautiful, moving memorial. I don't know anyone killed in Viet Nam either, but you do shed a tear when you go there. So sad. You did a great write up of it.
I really like the Korean War memorial too. It really gives you a sense of what it may have been like over there.
Haven't been to DC since the WW2 Memorial opened. They were building it last we were there. I'm sure that's beautiful too.
Wow, you can literally see the 'reflection' in the photograph. Thank you for the description, it's always good to have some context and perspective before seeing something, and this has just been added to the list!
Vietnam played a big role in the soundtrack of my childhood with the nightly news on television and the increasing influence it had on the music of the time...but I've yet to see the memorial.
I've read several accounts of the emotion this site evokes, so it's something I probably do need to go see at one point...
Thanks for including such a detailed description - I do think this monument is one of the most moving.
I didn't take the kids there when we were last in D.C. but plan to at a later date, especially once my oldest has studied the Vietnam War in school.
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