why was the vietnam war memorial so controversial?

With the seed money from several defense industry donors, especially Grumman Aerospace, VVMF launched its first large-scale direct mail campaign to reach out to the public. There is also disharmony between the nay-saying wall and the unequivocally proud flag [] And nothing has happened to make Maya Lins creation look less like what it suggests to some veterans and some non-combatant citizens: an open grave.'9. Warner, who had served as Secretary of the Navy during the war, was himself a veteran of World War II and the Korean War. Mathias and Warner continued to rally support and ferry the legislation. That changed in August 1964. In late spring 1969, American and South . 3 (August 2004): 122. His reasoning was that a complete mess would make it tough to stop construction. But if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? Wheeler recruited others to help, starting with a group of professional men, all Vietnam or Vietnam-era veterans: George Sandy Mayo, Arthur Mosley, John Morrison, Paul Haaga, Bill Marr, John Woods and certified public accountant Bob Frank, who agreed to become VVMFs treasurer. It was like a Woodstock atmosphere in Washington for those who had served in Vietnam, recalled Scruggs. Why was Lin's Vietnam Veterans Memorial initially controversial? They are a treasure of design insight and included many prescient thoughts as to how the Memorial would likely be experienced, Spreiregen wrote of Clays notes. Also known as "America's Longest War," U.S. involvement in Vietnam War did not end until 1973. and was so hurt by the controversy . To achieve this effect she chose polished black granite for the walls. Private Funding No government funds were used to build the memorial, only public land. 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. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. In response to the designs submitted to these various competitions (generated by famed architects, artists, and members of the general public alike), conflicting interpretations once again revolved around notions of elitism versus populismharkening back to the language of the controversy over Lins memorial.14 In a 2002 debate with architect Daniel Libeskind on the matter, New Republic literary editor Leon Wieseltier commented, There is something a little grotesque in the interpretation of Ground Zero as a lucky break for art. The first cut was further reduced to 90 by midday Wednesday. As a senior at Yale University, Lin entered a nationwide competition sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, and her design was selected from the more than 1,400 submissions that were received. After 25 years, the way in which visitors have embraced and cherished this work has been a great gift to me, she wrote in the program for the 25th anniversary ceremony. One example, cited in Grab Their Belts to Fight Them: The Viet Congs Big-Unit War Against the U.S., 19651966, by Warren Wilkins, is a description of the first major battle between the VC and American ForcesU.S. 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. Over 500,000 wounded, Explore articles from the HistoryNet archives about Vietnam War. Veterans frequently found themselves denying their time in Vietnam, never mentioning their service to new friends and acquaintances for fear of the reactions it might elicit. One of Mathias early key suggestions was that the memorial should be on the Mall, especially because the anti-war demonstrations had taken place there. Following its dedication, Lins memorial quickly became the prototype for American war memorials. Moreover, could it accomplish all of that while listing the approximately 58,000 names in an artistic, meaningful way? He made an impassioned plea for funding to his guests, members of the defense industry. Though its location on federally owned property and its maintenance by the National Park Service might imply otherwise, the impetus to create the Vietnam Veterans Memorial came entirely from the private sector and from one man in particular: Jan Scruggs, a Vietnam veteran who had been wounded in the line of duty. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. Vietnam Veterans Memorial, also called The Wall, national monument in Washington, D.C., honouring members of the U.S. armed forces who served and died in the Vietnam War (1955-75). It seemed unconscionable that heor anyone elseshould be allowed to forget. This message of personal responsibility, in contrast to governance by an elite group on behalf of individuals, became a hallmark of the Reagan administration. Marinesnear Van Truong, from the VC point of view. On January 21, 1970, Jan Scruggs was having his morning cup of coffee, but he was far from his kitchen table at home. When the winning Vietnam Veterans Memorial design was dedicated on November 13, 1982, a storm of controversy followed. Furthermore, he explicitly framed his interpretation of the memorial in (perceived) opposition to an explicitly artistic perspective. Frustrated, Nixon ordered the big bombersB-52sto strike Hanoi, beginning December 16 (Operation LINEBACKER). Some observers attributed this factor to Maya Lins presence on the jurying panel, which also included victims families, political appointees, curators, and other artists.17 It was even announced at one point that Walkers and Arads design resembled a sketch that Lin had made for the sort of memorial that might be placed at the site.18 Like Lins design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Reflecting Absence was criticized for failing to incorporate any representations of human figures, its minimal design interpreted as a rejection of codes of heroism.19 In a practical reenactment of the negotiation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the addition of a representational statue of three firefighters hoisting a flag at Ground Zero was proposed. 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. In accordance with the strict competition guidelines, anonymity of all designs was carefully observed. No American air strikes came to aid the overstretched South Vietnamese, despite Nixons earlier assurances to Thieu. The peasants resented being forced from their ancestral lands, and consolidating them gave the VC better targets. Others: 80,000 plus, 200,000400,000 civilians 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. Timing is everything, and enough time had passed. But if the challenges seemed insurmountable, no one expressed any fears. Both the Army of the Republic of South Vietnam (ARVN) and the VC used torture, to extract information or to cowl opposition. 170,000220,000 military Far from being a fait accompli, amassing the public will to support this new agenda took real work. Woods remembered, I was like the kid at FAO Schwartz. ever and endured a raging national controversy over the avant-garde . He found that returning veterans were finding it hard to trust people. News footage showed the fighting in Saigon and Hue. The memorial was built to honor that spirit and the sacrifice of so many who gave everything they had to give. By the time of World War II, a number of groups sought Vietnamese independence but as Vo Nguyen Giapwho would build Vietnams postWWII armyexpressed it, the communists were the best organized and most action-oriented of these groups. It would be a way to honor the veterans and to help themand the countryheal. The Memorials walls point to the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, thus bringing the Memorial into the historical context of our country. As the selection of the granite was narrowed down, Lin was keen on preserving the notion that the granite walls be reflective and thin to help express a critical aspectof the design that the memorial was a cut in the earth that had been polished. All of them realized how critical it was that a memorial be apolitical. For years, American society as a whole, regardless of political affiliation, had studiously ignored Vietnam veterans, their presence a painful reminder of the wars moral ambiguity. Because of this, Mathias appointed her to manage the details and to work with Scruggs, Doubek, and Wheeler on the legislation for the memorial. It was decided that VVMF would hold a design competition, open to any American citizen over 18 years of age. After the dedication, Scruggs and Wheeler walked together along the upper side of the Memorial ground, near Constitution Avenue. Intellectually and emotionally, America could embrace the idea. . It would have power for individual veterans, but collectively, they would have even greater power to show the enormity of the sacrifices that were made.. Undoubtedly, news media played an important role in Americans saying, Enough. Indeed, Vo Nyugen Giap had always envisioned using media as one of his spear points for victory. 8. Why was the Vietnam women's memorial so significant? 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. 15. To treat the Vietnam dead like the victims of some monstrous traffic accident is more than a disservice to history; it is a disservice to the memory of the 57,000.5. With the winning design in hand, Spreiregen had less than 24 hours to craft an explanation of the decisionand the designthat would be suitable for presentation to VVMF. The Vietnam War is the commonly used name for the Second Indochina War, 19541975. The shift, however, did not represent a resolved conflict between public art and public memory and memorialization, but merely a temporary relocation of the site of debate. On February 7, 1965, the U.S. Air Force began bombing selected sites in North Vietnam. For example, veteran Tom Carhart famously commented: I dont care about artistic perceptions, I dont care about the rationalizations that abound. With the jury selected, the next task was to announce and promote the competition. First Inaugural Address (January 20, 1981), Ronald Wilson Reagan, Miller Center For Public Affairs, University of Virginia, accessed April 21, 2011, https://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3407. The pilot of an F-8E Crusader did not see any ships in the area where the enemy was reported, and years later crew members said they never saw attacking craft. I heard that those present agreed to double their contributions after Taylor completed her remarks, Scruggs said. The insurgency was called the National Liberation Front (PLF); however, its soldiers and operatives became more commonly known by their opponents as the Viet Cong (VC), short for Vietnamese Communists. His political party, the Democrats, had been blamed for China falling to communism; withdrawing from Vietnam could hurt them in the 1964 elections. Scruggs added: Make this place look like an airstrike was called in, he instructed. 6. zThe Vietnam Wall Controversy, Round 3, October 1981January 1982, History on Trial, Lehigh University Digital Library, accessed April 21, 2011, https://digital.lib.lehigh.edu/trial/vietnam/r3/october/. 14. But the fact that the language deployed to critique Arads and Walkers design so closely echoed the criticism launched against Lin in the early 1980s signifies that the debates of that era remain unresolved. Security was improving even as American forces were in the process of withdrawing. To Heal a Nation, a book written by Jan Scruggs and Joel Swerdlow about the creation of the Memorial, provides a vivid sketch of the scene: I have heard your arguments, said General Price. Perhaps Lins centralitytwenty years after the construction of the Vietnam Veterans Memorialto the debate over Arads and Walkers design was inevitable, given her presence on the design competitions selection committee as well as her legacy as the definitive memorial builder of the late twentieth century. 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. Prior war memorials had depicted brave soldiers riding horses, shooting guns, or at some other moment of triumphfor example, the massive Marine Corps War Memorial with its enormous bronze figures raising the American flag over Iwo Jima. Cambodia By early 1982, VVMF asked Warner to bring together both sides for a closed-door session to hammer out the issues. 12. On January 27, 1973, peace accords were signed between North Vietnam and the U.S. He had spent three months recovering in a hospital before being sent back to fight with rocket-propelled grenade fragments permanently embedded in his body. Each contestant sealed his or her name in an envelope and taped it to the back of the submission. The text size is less than half an inch, which is unusual for monument design, but was selected to make the memorial read more like a book. How did people react to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial? This fear evolved into the Domino Theory; if one country fell to communist control, its neighbors would also soon fall like a row of dominos. Some of the juror comments included: Images of fighting, of dead and wounded soldiers, of POWs held in North Vietnam were beamed into Americas living rooms night after night, as was footage of hundreds, sometimes thousands of antiwar protestors marching through the streets. Why were people angry about the Vietnam War memorial? Inscribed on the black granite walls are the names of more than 58,000 men and women who gave their lives or remain missing. They found that they were very real people who did many of the same things they did, recalled Spreiregen. The In Memory plaque, dedicated in 2004, is near The Three Servicemen and honors the men and women who died as a result of their service in Vietnam. By the March 31, 1981, deadline, 1,421 design entries were submitted for judging. Black is not a color of shame. Daniel Abramson, Maya Lin and the 1960s: Monuments, Time Lines, and Minimalism, Critical Inquiry 22, no. The 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. However, the years that saw the memorials proposal, design, and construction1980 to 1982coincided with a momentous shift in the topography of American political culture: the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 and the ensuing negotiation of a new federal agenda. Both Scruggss and the VVMFs statements clearly conveyed that the memorial the veterans sought was to be an apolitical tabula rasa that would neither contribute to nor comment upon the unresolved controversies surrounding the war. Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington D.C. Like many veterans, Carhart read Lins design through the lens of his own experience: encountering an America that was at best indifferent and at worst outright hostile towards soldiers returning from Vietnam. I have a Master's degree in military history from King's College, London and my cornucopia of interests include: World War II, World War II, and World War II. A chronological listing would also allow a returning veteran to find his or her time of service on The Wall and those who died together to remain together forever on The Wall. I just kept thinking to myself how quiet it was, and yet there was an immense feeling of community. He also said there would be a pause in the air attacks on North Vietnam as the first step to de-escalate and promised America would substantially reduce the present level of hostilities.. We had been friends for a long time, Mathias said. Today, The Wall continues to be the most-visited memorial on the National Mall, attracting more than five million people each year. (Woods continues to serve on VVMFs Board of Directors to this day. You may have been tear-choked as you touched or watched others touch "the Wall" at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the most visited war memorial in our nation's capital. They were feeling alienated from the nations leaders, and they had low self-esteem. The Vietnam Women's Memorial was established to honor the women who risked their lives to serve their country. An air war was the most that could be done north of the 17th parallel, because the use of ground troops had been ruled out. Scruggs took a bold step in contacting Virginia Senator John Warner. Ms Lin arrived at a design solution to note those that were MIA with a symbol()that could be altered if the service member was found. That bothered him. The plan, however, was eventually scrapped, once the initial haggling over the racial identity of the firefighters gave way to accusations of political correctness on the part of the memorials planners.20. 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. Most at the meeting told him they didnt want a memorial; they wanted more benefits and government support. It seemed every time they contacted someone, they were greeted with enthusiasm for the idea. Initially, however, homefront support for the war effort grew, but by March Americans, perceiving no change in strategy that would bring the war to a conclusion, became increasingly disillusioned. As soon as the design was chosen,the next step was to consider the all-important details of getting it built. The act of dark tourism is somewhat controversial, with some viewing it as an act of respect and others as unethical practice. Jack was the visionary, the creative, big-picture guy. He was an excellent partner and fundraiser. Mathias knew the legislative process.

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