why was the vietnam war memorial so controversial

Lins wall design turned out to be more intelligent than many armchair critics had realized. Population in the south was mostly clustered in a few areas along the coast; the north always enjoyed a larger population. The first phase encompassed the detail planning and preparations for holding the competition, said Spreiregen. (Some in the North Vietnamese government thought the course of war in the south was unwise, but they were overruled.) He had studied the work of psychiatrist Carl Jung, a student of Sigmund Freud, who wrote of shared societal values. Early Protests Vietnamese monk protesting with self It was the most thoughtful and thorough discussion of design that I have ever heard, and I have heard many, he recalled. To bring the design into reality would require an architect of record. In 2009 the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund assumed responsibility for the maintenance of the site. Granite was chosen since it could withstand the tests at the time. Some 80,000 Vietnamese from the south had moved to the north after the Geneva Agreements were signed. It seemed every time they contacted someone, they were greeted with enthusiasm for the idea. After listening for a while, Brigadier General George Price, a retired veteran of Korea and Vietnam, stood in quiet rage and said, I am sick and tired of calling black a color of shame. General Price, one of Americas highest-ranking black officers lived with and advised the 1st Vietnamese Infantry Division. The program, which had been poorly managed, was abandoned after about two years, following the coup that deposed Diem. Men looking for each others names on the wall would realize who was standing nearby, and embrace in tears. It depicts three uniformed women with a wounded soldier and serves as a reminder of the important support and caregiving roles that women played in the war as nurses, air traffic controllers, communication specialists, etc. Many people were shocked that of the 1,421 designs submitted by number in a blind competition, the final design had turned out to be the idea of a 21-year-old undergraduate student named Maya Linan Asian-American woman. The emotional response from the public was overwhelming as veterans, friends, and families turned out to pay their respects to those who sacrificed their lives during the Vietnam War. Many pushed friends in wheelchairs. Why was black granite chosen for the Vietnam Memorial? To achieve this effect she chose polished black granite for the walls. As soon as the design was chosen,the next step was to consider the all-important details of getting it built. EIN: 52-1149668, Copyright 2023 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Javascript must be enabled for the correct page display, History of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial. When the time came, however, Diem resisted the elections; the more populous north would certainly win. What are the five major reasons humans create art? Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. They found that they were very real people who did many of the same things they did, recalled Spreiregen. Opines that the vietnam war memorial was constructed for a noble purpose and is an historic reminder of how many men were lost. (A statue dedicated to the women who served in the Vietnam War was also added to the site in 1993. Unlike previous wars, where only still images or short movie newsreels were available for conveying images, this was Americas first television war. For this reason, in Vietnam today it is known as the American War. To suggest we are on the edge of defeat is to yield to unreasonable pessimism. It was a whirlwind of events, and the press coverage was unbelievable. Web1. The more people you got to co-sponsor, the more people wanted to join.. Spreiregen, a graduate of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, was a Fulbright Scholar who had served as the director of urban design programs at the American Institute of Architects (AIA) from 1962-66 and as the first director of architecture programs at the National Endowment for the Arts from 1966-70. Although thousands of people were there, It was so very quiet, Wheeler recalled. The veterans even faced controversy over their own memorial. In 1973 a third Vietnam war begana continuation, actuallybetween North and South Vietnam but without significant U.S. involvement. He found that returning veterans were finding it hard to trust people. Lin became a design consultant to the architect of record. The color black was chosen, not as a symbol of defeat, but to symbolically represent the earth. In November, a coup deposed Diem, with the blessing of Kennedys administration, which had quietly assured South Vietnams military leaders it was not adverse to a change in leadership and military aid would continue. It was designed by American architect Maya Lin. And none of them discussed their own personal feelings or political views regarding the war. To make matters worse, Diem responded by sending troops to raid pagodas. Using his findings, he testified at the Senate hearing on the Veterans Health Care Amendments Act of 1977, with the hope that he could help veterans gain access to the services and support they needed. More than 150,000 veterans, families, loved ones and friends made plans to attend. One person even left behind a motorcycle. Why was the Vietnam womens memorial so significant? He, in turn, called the Buddhists VC sympathizers. hbbd``b`6m@[$6@? g Arguments about a possible Vietnam Memorial in the late 1970s and early 1980s revealed serious social, political and cultural problems. What symbolism did Maya Lin achieve by creating this memorial? Holding a competition is like launching a rocket. By the end of 1967, there were 540,000 American troops in Vietnam, and the military draft was set to call up 302,000 young men in the coming year, an increase of 72,000 over 1967. Before the 1880s, the French controlled Vietnam. In an interview he was asked if there was light at the end of the tunnel, and he responded that the U.S. and its allies had turned a corner in Vietnam. On January 30, 1968, during Vietnams celebration of Tet, the lunar new year, VC and NVA units launched a massive attack in every province of South Vietnam. North Vietnam, had by then established a presence in Laos and developed the Ho Chi Minh Trail through that country in order to resupply and reinforce its forces in South Vietnam. He made an impassioned plea for funding to his guests, members of the defense industry. The U.S., which had been gradually exerting influence after the departure of the French government, backed Diem in order to limit the area under communist control. Today, The Wall continues to be the most-visited memorial on the National Mall, attracting more than five million people each year. Larry Century, a young inventor from Cleveland, Ohio,was selected to serve as a consultant to Binswanger Glass Company in Memphis, Tennessee, which was awarded the contract for inscribing the names. I remember The Washington Post had pages and pages of stories in the A section. Vietnam veterans were, at long last, receiving the recognition they deserved. She greeted each visitor in a regal fashion, wearing a dressing gown, perfect makeup, and beautiful shoes that curled up at the toes. With the introduction of legislation, the VVMF leaders realized that it was time to transition from a volunteer committee and to open a staffed office. Vietnam has a long history of being ruled by foreign powers, and this led many Vietnamese to see the United States involvement in their country as neo-colonialism. Lin knew it was critical to maintain the simplicity of the design throughout the design development and construction process. The series of events began on Wednesday, November 10, 1982, and culminated with a service at the National Cathedral on Sunday, November14. Ultimately, the VVMF Board agreed on a jury of the most experienced and prestigious artists and designers that could be found, since it took a mature eye to envision from two-dimensional renderings how a design would look when built. Color should mean nothing now., Sideys piece continued: At the end of five hours and much shouting, General Mike Davison, retired, who led the Cambodian incursion in 1970, proposed a compromise: add the figure of a soldier in front of the long granite walls that will bear the 57,709 names of those who died or are missing and the tribute to all who served. No one wanted the war to happen in the first place, so having a memorial was a constant reminder of the war no one wanted . They struck at least 30 provincial capitals and the major cities of Saigon and Hue. People felt it was too different from traditional war monuments. ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) People of all ages got to explore a special helicopter at the nations second largest Vietnam veterans memorial on Saturday. Ho Chi Minh led a communist government in the north (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) with its capital at Hanoi, and a new Republic of South Vietnam was established under President Ngo Dinh Diem, with its capital at Saigon. However, the initial hostility has faded, and the monument has since become a near-universally treasured piece of public sculpture. The location secured, the seemingly uncontroversial process of articulating goals for a memorial and staging a competition draws over 1100 entries then the largest such design competition in the United States and the winner is Maya Lin's "Wall. On August 2, two North Vietnamese torpedo boats in broad daylight engaged USS Maddox, which was gathering communications intelligence in the Gulf of Tonkin. In July 1959, North Vietnams leaders passed an ordinance called for continued socialist revolution in the north and a simultaneous revolution in South Vietnam. As America expanded its involvement and threw more resources into the fight, the walls grow taller and the names grow overwhelming. John F. Kennedy discusses Vietnam in 1963. They were either ignored or shouted at and called vicious names. Scruggs envisioned a Vietnam War memorial that would focus attention on the lives that were lost, thus transcending divisive debates about why the war was fought. Once Scruggs decided to build the memorial, the next step was to get some people behind him. The Civil Rights Movement had produced significant victories, but many blacks had come to describe Vietnam as a white mans war, a black mans fight. Between 1961 and 1966, black males accounted for about 13 percent of the U.S. population and less than 10 percent of military personnel but almost 20 percent of all combat-related deaths. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. He was in Vietnam, serving in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade. Vietnam Veterans, their sacrifices ignored and dismissed for so long, saw the drama surrounding the Memorial as more evidence that they would never be accepted into mainstream American culture. The Vietnam Womens Memorial was established to honor the women who risked their lives to serve their country. Others: 80,000 plus, 200,000400,000 civilians Emphasis switched to Vietnamization, preparing South Vietnams military to take over responsibility for continuing the war. The original design proposal called for all of the names to be individually hand-chiseled in the stone, but it was soon realized the time and money it would take to do that were impractical. Lin and VVMF eventually selectedthe Cooper-Lecky Partnership as the architect-of-record, with Lin as the projects design consultant. (An American medic treated him during World War II, probably saving his life.) The greatest challenge VVMF faced, said Doubek, was to put together a functioning organization with people who didnt know one another, people who were very young and didnt have a lot of experience. Updates? .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Who Are the Rival Generals in the Sudan Conflict? Why Were Vietnam War Vets Treated Poorly When They Returned? The Vietnam Womens Memorial was established to honor the women who risked their lives to serve their country. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial has been an issue of debate since its beginning, a debate that is far from worthwhile. His reasoning was that a complete mess would make it tough to stop construction. No one wanted the war to happen in the first place, so having a memorial was a constant reminder of the war no one wanted. The veterans were asking me, What do you think people are going to do when they first come here? Lin recalls. Ultimately, one of the greatest challenges was how to get that many names on the wall panels in such a short period of time. The Everything has to be thought out and in place before the launch button is pressed.. Every day, park rangers collect and tag the items, noting which wall panel each item was left beneath. China conquered the northern part of modern Vietnam in 111 BC and retained control until 938 AD; it continued to exert some control over the Vietnamese until 1885. Among South Vietnams other allies, Australia had over 400 killed and 2,400 wounded; New Zealand, over 80 KIA; Republic of Korea, 4,400 KIA; and Thailand 350 killed. An article by Hugh Sidey in the February 22, 1982, issue ofTIMEmagazine described the session: A few days ago, 40 supporters and critics of the memorial gathered to try to break the impasse that threatened the memorial because of such features as the black color of the stone and its position below ground level. His idea attracted a group of like-minded veterans who realized that creating such a memorial would depend on their own initiative. In the end, the panel passed over every professional architect in favor of 21-year-old Yale University student Maya Lin, who had created her design for a class. People began to leave personal items, offerings at the wall. Spreiregen recommended having a multi-disciplinary panel: two architects, two landscape architects, two sculptors, and one generalist with extensive knowledge about art, architecture, and design. As they forged a partnership with Mathias and his staff, VVMF also set out to establish other key relationships. The body count policy fell into disfavor and was not employed in future American wars; in Vietnam it led officers to inflate enemy casualties. Some antiwar protestors blamed the men and women who served in Vietnam, taunting them and spitting on them when they came home. As part of the walls 30th-anniversary celebration in 2012, all 58,282 names were read aloud just prior to Veterans Day. The first fundraising letter was signed by Bob Hope. How do you build a monument to a war that was more tragic than triumphant? Such images pack tremendous emotional punch but often lack context. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. General Price, along with Senators Warner and Mathias and future Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, gave moving addresses before the command was given, and 150 shovels entered the ground with enthusiastic veterans enjoying the moment. The Memorials walls point to the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, thus bringing the Memorial into the historical context of our country. It sold the war as a battle between Communism and Western Democracy when it fact, it was a regional conflict rooted in anti-colonial sentiment. 921 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<4B264510C64B8043843649F3602A0E3F>]/Index[915 11]/Info 914 0 R/Length 52/Prev 971210/Root 916 0 R/Size 926/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream I ran over to see a truck on fire and a dozen of my friends dying. They had been unloading an ammunition truck when the explosion occurred. What are the three things being represented by the Vietnam womens memorial? Some felt that the money to build a memorial could be better spent delivering the many services veterans needed. Following the Tet Offensive of 1968, the NVA had to assume the major combat role because the VC was decimated during the offensive. WebART HISTORY Describe the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial. Earlier, in March 1968, the Americal Division had been involved in what became known as the My Lai Massacre, in which over 100 men, women and children were killed. Design and Layout Maya Lin conceived her design as creating a park within a park a quiet protected place unto itself, yet harmonious with the overall plan of Constitution Gardens. Bob was the detail person and a good writer. He was an excellent partner and fundraiser. Mathias knew the legislative process. To created credibility for the fledgling effort, they formed the National Sponsoring Committee, which included then-first lady Rosalynn Carter, former President Gerald Ford, Bob Hope, future first lady Nancy Reagan, Gen. William C. Westmoreland, USA, Vietnam veteran author James Webb, and Adm. James J. Stockdale, USN. After watching the movie The Deer Hunter, Scruggs apparently stepped up his activism even further, using $2,800 of his own money to form the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund in 1979. Black walls, the universal color of shame and sorrow and degradation.. During the Vietnam War, the U.S military engaged in an aggressive program of chemical warfare codenamed Operation Ranch Hand. North and South Vietnam were combined into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1976. Saigon had fallen But instead of enthusiasm, he received skepticism. Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. WebThe Vietnam Veterans Memorial stands as a symbol of America's honor and recognition of the men and women who served and sacrificed their lives in the Vietnam War. But the veterans had real problems. Adding to Americans disillusionment was the race issue. Some argued that the memorial should rise from the ground and not sink into the earth as if it was something to be hidden. Those memories were fresh in the mind of the daughter of Chinese immigrants senior year when, as part of an assignment in her funereal architecture seminar, she designed a walled monument to veterans of the Vietnam War that was etched with the names of those who gave their lives. Many felt it should be composed primarily of veterans; others felt it should be made up only of professionals; some thought a mix of the two would be best. The information provided here does not represent the views of Cheaper Than Dirt! That changed in August 1964. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Hi, Im Claire. But if the challenges seemed insurmountable, no one expressed any fears. And every item that is left behind at the Wall is saved at the National Parks' Museum Resource Center in Maryland. In November 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated before a crowd of thousands of people. %%EOF Better armed than ever before, thanks to increased aid from the Soviet Union, they employed tanks for the first time. The purpose of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was to honor all who had served, with a special tribute their names engraved for those who did not return. The division was supposed to be temporary: elections were to be held in both sections in 1956 to determine the countrys future. Businessman H. Ross Perot, who had pledged $160,000 to help run the competition, called it a trench and withdrew his support. Military personnel, including nurses, were warned not to wear their uniforms in the States. But Lin doesn't like anybody "drawing mustaches" on her design and, with the support of many in the Art world, pressures the Commission of Fine Arts to scuttle the compromise and hatch a new one. READ MORE: Why Were Vietnam War Vets Treated Poorly When They Returned? The proposed Vietnam memorial was a simple black wall, starkly sunk into the ground in a V shape, with the names of dead and missing American servicemen and women engraved into it. The controversy overshadowed the mission and what we were doing, until the Salute brought it all together. It seemed unfair and inappropriate that there should be no recognition.. A deep symbolic image for some and a questionable faceless wall for others the Vietnam Veterans Memorial has become controversial since the layout was accepted. The first cut was further reduced to 90 by midday Wednesday. They complained about the walls being black. The entire text size and layout Lin saw as an open book. WebWhy was the Vietnam womens memorial so significant? Initially the (Senators) staff was split, recalled Monica Healy, a long-time Mathias aide, on whether Mathias should take the lead and support the efforts to build the Memorial. WebWhen the men returned home from war, they were not greeted with pride but with uneasiness. The controversy about the wall reflected Americas feelings at that time regarding our involvement in Vietnam. Some public officials voiced their displeasure, calling the wall a black gash of shame. It was a direct result of the First Indochina War (19461954) between France, which claimed Vietnam as a colony, and the communist forces then known as Viet Minh. Over 500,000 wounded, Explore articles from the HistoryNet archives about Vietnam War. Corruption and instability in South Vietnams government did not instill confidence in its people, or in the Americans working with it. He cited the growing coalition was a prime example of its not what you know, its who you know. These people, though a small group, were able to reach out to their networks and their extensive contacts to recruit the type of expertise and support required for such a mammoth initiative. The names of the eight women who died in Vietnam are included on the list of over 58,000 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Black is not a color of shame. They needed support, friendship and help. Throwback Thursday: 5 Long-Slide Pistols I Can't Live Without, Full Feature: Anderson Manufacturing Kiger 9C Pro 9mm, The History Fixed and Adjustable Iron Sights, Throwback Thursday: All About Bullet Grain, Rifle Hack: Sighting for 100 Yards at a Distance of 25 Yards. That bothered him. Please be respectful of others. It ultimately chose entry number 1026, which it found to be an eloquent place where the simple meeting of earth, sky and remembered names contains messages for all.. Vietnam veteran Joseph Zengerle, then an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, volunteered the use of an aircraft hangar at Andrews Air Force Base. You had to live through that period to really understand it. The World is a public radio program that crosses borders and time zones to bring home the stories that matter. Their motto is: Honor the dead by serving the living. Volunteering to assist VVMF was an ideal opportunity for Cupp to do just that. We had to constantly find the most effective next step to take and be sure not to get waylaid by tangents. The group started to hold regular planning meetings. Im sure I looked like a deer in the headlights, I was so nervous, Scruggs recalled. The Vietnam Memorial, located in Washington D.C., is a sacred symbol to honor the countless brave men and women who sacrificed their lives during the Vietnam War. Why was Maya Lins Vietnam War Memorial initially controversial? Although Americas war in Vietnam failed to salvage the Republic of South Vietnam, it bought time in which neighboring countries improved their economies and defensive capabilities, and it may have discouraged greater communist activism in places like the Philippines. The National Park Service has kept and preserved more than 100,000 offeringsSouth Vietnamese money, American medals and insignia, bits of uniforms, combat boots, a captured Viet Cong flag, and even a chopper style customized Harley motorcycle. The Shooter's Log, is to provide informationnot opinionsto our customers and the shooting community. (Ten times as many Vietnamese had fled the north, where the Communist Party was killing off its rivals, seizing property, and oppressing the large Catholic population.) In previous war, progress and setbacks could be shown on maps; large enemy units could be engaged and destroyed. Marinesnear Van Truong, from the VC point of view. Maya Lin worked closely with Cooper-Lecky on all aesthetic aspects of the design. Why was the Vietnam Memorial so controversial? One of the lingering legacies of the Vietnam War is the widespread belief in America that the media cost us the war in Vietnam. Images such as the burning monk; South Vietnamese Police Chief Lt. Col. Nguyen Ngoc Loan about to pull the trigger of a pistol pointed at the head of a bound VC prisoner; of a naked young girl running crying down a road after an American napalm strike that left her badly burnedthese images and others became seared into the minds of Americans on the homefront, and in those of civilians in allied nations such as Australia. That same month, Kennedy himself was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. But several weeks after the announcement, a handful of people began to protest the design. A memorial made perfect sense to him. It was becoming apparent that we had been able to be instruments to something far greater than anything we had ever imagined.. It would help veterans heal. Why was Maya Lins Vietnam War Memorial initially controversial? I had a general idea that I wanted to describe a journeya journey that would make you experience death and where youd have to be an observer, where you could never really fully be with the dead. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Why is the Vietnam Memorial black instead of white? As Vietnamization began in the early 1970s and American involvement tapered off, the wall also tapers off and the flood of names slows to a trickle, then stops. Many politicians expressed their support, and the U.S. Congress passed legislation reserving three acres in the northwest corner of the National Mall for a future monument. Though a congressional investigative committee the previous year had warned that America could find itself slipping into in a morass that would require more and more military participation in Vietnam, Johnson began a steady escalation of the war, hoping to bring it to a quick conclusion. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Listed chronologically by their KIA or MIA date are the names of the dead and missing. Ike may not have seen the message, but at any rate he was focused on establishing NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) as a wall against additional communist advances in Europe and was intent on securing Frances participation in NATO. Yet, to say the media cost America victory in Vietnam is vastly oversimplifying a very complex situation. As the war escalated and increasing numbers of Americans were wounded and killed in combat, the opposition grew. And if they themselves didnt know how to help, they knew someone who did. Mathias had grown increasingly concerned about how veterans had been treated on their return. John F. Kennedy discusses Vietnam in 1963. It was like a Woodstock atmosphere in Washington for those who had served in Vietnam, recalled Scruggs. However, that posed a problem of how tolocate an individual name. The South Vietnamese Army was showing improvement, winning 37 of their last 45 major engagements. The ceasefire allowed Nixon to declare peace with honor, but no provisions existed for enforcing the terms of the accords. He closed by saying: To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe, in the face of the evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past. Author Tom Wolfe called it a tribute to [anti-war activist] Jane Fonda. Vietnam veteran Jim Webb, a future U.S. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. Throughout her freshman and sophomore years, she watched as stonecutters added to the honor roll by etching the names of those killed in the Vietnam War. By early 1982, VVMF asked Warner to bring together both sides for a closed-door session to hammer out the issues. The designs were received and processed in a large warehouse east of Washington. Or, people would tell me, Well why did you let him go? Of course, what choice do you have?. Diem fell from favor with his American patrons, partly over disagreements in how to handle the war against the VC and partly because of his unpopular suppression of religious sects and anyone he feared threatened his regime. There were four phases to the design competition spanning almost one year: planning and preparation; the launch; the design phase; the design evaluation and selection; the press conference and public presentation. I heard there was a group of serious veterans, not just people getting together to have a beer in the evening, but a group that was serious about getting together to address the problems of the veterans.. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), This 21-Year-Old College Student Designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. In December Doubek became the Executive Director, working on a half-time basis for the first few months, and opened the VVMF office on January 2, 1980. When Lin first visited the proposed location for the memorial, she wrote, I imagined taking a knife and cutting into the earth, opening it up, an initial violence and pain that in time would heal. Her memorial proved to be a pilgrimage site for those who served in the war and those who had loved ones who fought in Vietnam. six flags new jersey haunted house fire victims, julia holcomb who started fire, cabo 2 allow parking permit,

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