Vietnam Veterans Memorial Analysis

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. is a suitable monument for both Americans who lost their lives during the war and their loved ones. At the time that The Vietnam Veterans Memorial design was conceived, it created a vast amount of controversy, as Vietnam veterans felt that the monument was anti-heroic and did not symbolically represent the war in which they fought. Although nontraditional, the monument's abstract design is actually far more compelling than a traditional design would have been. This is due to the engraved names on the monument of soldiers who lost their lives, glorifying the lives of those who served as opposed to glorifying the war itself. In addition, the designer, Maya Lin, at the time was a 21-year-old college student. Little did she or anyone else anticipate that her abstract design would strongly influence other memorials to come. When several Vietnam veterans realized that the design would be a rather abstract monument with no symbolic figure, many became …show more content…
According to Text 3, the Vietnam War Memorial has “influenced later designs like the World Trade Center Monument, which also features the names of the dead etched into black stone.” The Vietnam War Memorial has contributed inspiration to multiple monuments across the United States and eventually more to come: "the important thing to know about the Vietnam Veterans memorial is that it made memorials matter again" (Text 3). This is vital as the design illustrates significance for memorials whereas before memorials didnt didnt have an affect on people and were usually left forgotten or ignored. It also makes them more accessible for different feelings of mourning. In spite of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial’s controversial design, it has inspired other monuments across the