When walking through a cemetery, one often sees thousands of names engraved on the headstones. To a stranger, one name, quote, or date may mean nothing; however, to someone that knew them, it may be a link to the memories of a friend, family member, or loved one’s life. Like headstones, memorials connect us to the memories of a past person, or perhaps an event. From November 1st, 1955 to April 31st, 1975, war waged as the United States partnered with South Vietnam and fought against the communist regime of North Vietnam and its southern allies in the Vietnam War. A total of about 3 million people were killed, about 58,000 of whom were Americans. In honor of all those who had lost their lives, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was erected in Washington, D.C. on November 13th, 1982. However, despite the memorial being so popular and greatly appreciated
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service members who fought in the Vietnam War, died in service, and who went missing during the war. The memorial itself is made up of four parts—the Memorial Wall, the Three Servicemen, the Women’s Memorial, and the in memory memorial plaque. The most well-known yet controversial part of the memorial is the Memorial Wall. Made up of two 246-feet 9-inch walls of polished black granite, the wall bears the names of the servicemen who lost their lives in the Vietnam War. What is today regarded as, as one Vanity Fair commentator puts it, “far and away the greatest memorial of modern times—the most beautiful, the most heart-wrenching, the most subtle, and the most powerful,” was also once perceived “as ‘a monument to defeat,’ […] the ‘black gash of shame,’ [… and] the ‘degrading ditch’ ” (Greenspan; qtd. in Wolfson). Not only had the United States “lost” the war, but the Vietnam War was a war to which a great deal of Americans had been opposed. Remembering such an infamous war drove people to be particularly critical of the building of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at the
service members who fought in the Vietnam War, died in service, and who went missing during the war. The memorial itself is made up of four parts—the Memorial Wall, the Three Servicemen, the Women’s Memorial, and the in memory memorial plaque. The most well-known yet controversial part of the memorial is the Memorial Wall. Made up of two 246-feet 9-inch walls of polished black granite, the wall bears the names of the servicemen who lost their lives in the Vietnam War. What is today regarded as, as one Vanity Fair commentator puts it, “far and away the greatest memorial of modern times—the most beautiful, the most heart-wrenching, the most subtle, and the most powerful,” was also once perceived “as ‘a monument to defeat,’ […] the ‘black gash of shame,’ [… and] the ‘degrading ditch’ ” (Greenspan; qtd. in Wolfson). Not only had the United States “lost” the war, but the Vietnam War was a war to which a great deal of Americans had been opposed. Remembering such an infamous war drove people to be particularly critical of the building of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at the