Vietnam Veterans Memorial; a brief history

The Vietnam War was fought between 1959 and 1975. During the initial phase of the war the U.S. basically went in to essentially support the South Vietnam government who was under siege from communist North Vietnam. Eventually in 1973 a peace agreement was put into place, and withdrawal of Americans followed.

Today, Vietnam is a relatively peaceful area. In fact many Americans have been able to return to that place, a place that has held tragic consequences as well as traumatic memories for many of them. Especially for Vietnam veterans who have returned to Vietnam in order to help them to heal old wounds and to finally face and deal with the nightmares that had been a result of having to fight during those long years of war.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is not just a monument but for many who visit it a poignant experience. It is a reminder of what war can do to a country, in this case the tragic lost of 58,000 of its young men and women who died in that Conflict.

A young woman named Maya Lin designed the wall, which is now recognized world over by its architectural success. Although at one point there was some doubt that this architectural success would even occur.

Millions now visit this wall every year, and it has been purported to be the one of the most visited of the monuments in Washington, D.C. It is said that at any time of the day there is someone paying his or her respect to the thousands of names that are etched in black granite. Many leave mementos at the Wall, thousands of which have been collected and consequently catalogued by the Smithsonian.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial has been compared to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, i.e. where people feel a strong need to make a pilgrimage. It is said by those who have visited this Wall, it has helped them to heal old wounds. And the sight of this Wall stirs many emotions, and has even driven grown men to tears.

Others have called this Wall, “the Black gash of Shame and Sorrow” basically because the use of black granite put into such a stark angular form reminds them of just that, i.e. a gash in the earth that represents a war where many fellow Americans had to give up their lives.

The Vietnam War was not a favorable war, and during the course of it, especially in its later years, created a country divided. Many protest rallies took place on college campuses throughout America. Those who came back from fighting this war were not greeted with ticker tape parades, or cheering crowds as was done in previous wars. Instead sneers from small groups greeted many as they came off the planes and walked into airport terminals.

This Wall would not have come to be if it were not for the inspiration, commitment, persistence, dedication, and determination of one “ordinary” individual who felt something needed to be done to remember those who answered their country’s call to duty.

Jan Scruggs along with hundred of thousands of soldiers fought and 58,000 plus died in a land many of us hadn’t even heard of back in the early 60’s when U.S. personnel first became involved. Scruggs was basically inspired after watching the movie The Deer Hunter in 1979, which is a story about men who have completed their tour of duty in Vietnam and then return to the “Ordinary” world where they do not find themselves welcomed anymore or are able to fit in.

Unfortunately, this inspiration did not take off as well as Scruggs had first hoped. Not until two men Robert Doubek and John Wheeler, both lawyers, and both veterans established the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, its purpose to raise monies and eventually to erect a worthy monument.

The Senate approved a bill that would essentially put aside a couple of acres of land located near the Lincoln Memorial. Following this the House then approved it one month later. President Jimmy Carter signed the bill into law on July 1, 1980.

At this point there was no design or idea of what this monument was going to look like. A competition was started which then resulted in some 1,400 plus entries. March 31, 1981 a Yale architecture student by the name of Maya Lin won the competition. She proposed basically a black granite sculpture that would rise from the ground and then descend back into the ground. On this black structure would be the names of those who died in Vietnam which amounted to 58,000 names.

This created a controversy. 58,000 lost their lives on Southeast Asian soil. And now it was an Asian-American woman who had won the contest, and would end up responsible for the design of a monument remembering those 58,000.

Since five million dollars had been donated to the Fund, a compromise was necessary and eventually made. The Secretary of the Interior James Watt approved a building permit that resulted in a sculpture of three soldiers by Frederick Hart.

Along with this sculpture, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on November 13, 1982. Since that time more names have been added to the Wall of men who eventually died from injuries incurred during the war. Also during the mid 90's a Memorial to nurses who had served and died in Vietnam had also been added.

A 252-foot Moving Wall, a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. consisting of numerous interlocking aluminum panels duplicates the original structure and now travels throughout the U.S. Wherever this Moving Wall ends up, it draws large crowds of people and basically allows many to visit and be reminded of the terrible lost a country suffers when it sends its young men and women off to any war. It also reminds others of the large price Americans have had to pay for the freedom we are all now able to enjoy.