The Vietnam Veterans Memorial pays tribute to those who served in the Vietnam War. The memorial is a black granite wall inscribed with the names of 58,209 American’s killed or missing in the Vietnam conflict. The veterans names are listed in chronological order of when the casualty occurred and an alphabetical directory helps visitors locate names. A life size bronze statue depicting three young servicemen is located near the Vietnam Memorial Wall. Nearby is the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, a sculpture of two women in uniform tending to the wounds of a male soldier while a third woman kneels nearby. Visitors often leave flowers, medals, letters and photos in front of the memorials. The National Park Service collects these offerings and many are displayed at the Smithsonian Museum of American History.
History & Background of Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The concept for the memorial came from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF), a nonprofit charitable organization. Congress set aside a site on the National Mall for the monument, and VVMF raised donations and oversaw a national competition to find its designer. The call for proposals specified that the memorial be reflective and contemplative in nature; be harmonious with its surroundings, particularly those of the other nearby memorials; include the names of all those who died or remain missing; and make no political statement regarding the war. A jury of eight artists and designers unanimously selected the proposal submitted by Maya Lin – who at the time was a student at Yale University.
Lin’s design followed all of these specifications. Many who originally commented on the monument saw it as emblematic of a scar, as an embodiment of shame or disdain for the war, but Ms. Lin says the monument is not about perceptions of the war, but of something more specific and more important: “If you can’t accept death, you’ll never get over it. So what the Memorial’s about is honesty… You have to accept, and admit that this pain has occurred, in order for it to be healed, in order for it to be cathartic. All I was saying in this piece was the cost of war is these individuals. And we have to remember them first.”Anyone who has been to the monument – and millions visit every year – can attest to its success as a cathartic experience. Visitors are clearly emotional, and the individual nature that each casualty represents can be seen in the way people do rubbings of soldiers’ names, leave precious items nearby, or caress the engravings themselves. Some seem unable to leave.
Design of Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Vietnam Veterans Memorial announced in October, 1980, that the Memorial’s design would be selected through a national design competition open to any U.S. citizen 18 years of age or older. By December 29, 1980, 2,573 individuals and teams had applied for registration forms. By the deadline of March 31, 1981, 1,421 design entries had been submitted. All entries were judged anonymously by a jury of eight internationally recognized artists and designers, who had been selected by VVMF. The winning design was chosen on May 1, 1981. The designs were displayed at an airport hangar at Andrews Air Force Base for the selection committee, in rows covering more than 35,000 square feet of floor space. Each entry was identified by number only, to preserve the anonymity of their authors. All entries were examined by each juror; the entries were narrowed down to 232, finally 39. The jury selected Entry Number 1026 as it clearly met the spirit and formal requirements of the program. They felt its open nature would encourage access on all occasions, at all hours, without barriers, and yet free the visitors from the noise and traffic of the surrounding city. It will not be an exaggeration to say that Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a Beautiful Place For Vacations.
Dates on the Wall
The first casualty names inscribed were Dale R. Buis and Chester R. Ovnard (this name was a misspelling, it should have read Ovnand) were military advisors, killed on July 8th, 1959 in Bienhoa, while watching a movie in the mess tent. The light had been turned on to change the movie reel and that is when snipers opened fire. The name of the movie was “The Tattered Dress”, starring Jeanne Crain. Although 1959 is marked as the beginning on Panel 1, East wall, a Captain (Army) Harry G. Cramer was killed 21 October 1957 during a training action. He is listed on line 78, panel 1, East wall, which was added approximately a year after the Memorial was dedicated. Vietnam Veterans Memorial is beautiful place. 1975 was the year that the last 18 casualties (Daniel A. Benedett, Lynn Blessing, Walter Boyd, Gregory S. Copenhaver, Andres Garcia, Bernard Gause, Jr., Gary L. Hall, Joseph N. Hargrove, James J. Jacques, Ashton N. Loney, Ronald J. Manning, Danny G. Marshall, James R. Maxwell, Richard W. Rivenburgh, Elwood E. Rumbaugh, Antonio Ramos Sandovall, Kelton R. Turner, Richard Vande Geer) occurred on May 15th during the recapture of the freighter MAYAGUEZ and its crew.
The Symbols by the Names
The diamonds and pluses indicate whether a person is confirmed dead or missing/whereabouts unknown. The diamond indicates a person’s death was confirmed. The pluses indicate that a person remains missing and unaccounted for and in no way are meant to be a religious symbol. A plus symbol can be easily turned into a diamond if a person is declared dead. A circle will be inscribed around the plus if the person comes back alive Destinations guide in USA. As of this time, no circle appears on the wall. On the West wall the symbols precede the names, while on the East wall they follow the names.
