The Korean War Veterans Memorial Research Paper: The Korean War Veterans Memorial is an ominous depiction of an American squad on patrol alongside a 164 foot mural wall, to show that freedom is not free. The memorial is dedicated to those who served in the Korean War but more importantly those of them who were killed in action, are still missing in action, or were held as prisoners of war. The memorial was created by Frank Gaylord and Louis Nelson. The objective of the memorial is to remind the public of the dedication to the United States of the men and women who served in the Korean War. The memorial was designed to show the trials and tribulations that many of the military personnel faced during the war. The Korean War Veterans Memorial’s
I saw that soldier’s faces were lit eerily in the dim light. The sculptures apparel seemed fitting due to the light rain that was falling at the memorial site. I noticed the wall glimmering as the raindrops slid down the glassy surface and fall into the wilting flowers while the images illuminated from the glare of rain and light. I felt this morbid and realistic presence of the soldiers and for a mere second felt the gloom and menace of the war they were in. I walked around the site to gather more information on what the memorial was dedicated to. I walked past the mural wall and as I did I paid particular attention to the various images of people and equipment on the wall. All of the facial expressions of the people on the wall gave the memorial a very real presence to it. I continued walking down the granite walk and I read it was the Korean War Veterans Memorial and immediately got the message the artists were trying to convey. It was very clear that they were showing the public that freedom is not free. The memorial symbolizes the soldiers that have fought for the freedom of others and it recognizes the importance of these actions and
The everyday bystander would not perceive the work of art the same as a veteran or loved ones of a veteran would. In a particular instance a woman, Kathleen Cronan Wyosnick, wrote a very heartfelt letter to Abigail VanBuren [Abby] who was the first honorary member elected to the Korean War Veterans Association and previously a newspaper columnist. On November 11th, 1988 Wyosnick wrote to VanBuren pleading to consider a special group of men and women who fought in the Korean War, which is better known as the “forgotten war”. Wyosnick described in her letter how she was a former Air Force nurse who had lost her husband in the Korean War, she wrote about how the war is described in nothing more than a few paragraphs in text books. She said the only media reminder to the public of the war is a television show “M*A*S*H”. Just eight months after they got married her husband was shot down in North Korea on his first combat mission, and she never had him returned to her. She asked where the reminder of those who gave their lives in Korea was. She also asked what the Korean War Veterans Association will do to ensure that the people who lost their lives are not forgotten. The response by Abby to the letter was a sending of the check and the publishing of Wyosnick’s letter. The American Battle Monuments Commission received more than 27,000 donations totaling
Many soldiers who come back from the war need to express how they feel. Many do it in the way of writing. Many soldiers die in war, but the ones who come back are just as “dead.” Many cadets come back with shell shock, amputated arms and legs, and sometimes even their friends aren’t there with them. So during World War I, there was a burst of new art and writings come from the soldiers. Many express in the way of books, poems, short stories and art itself. Most soldiers are just trying to escape. A lot of these soldiers are trying to show what war is really like, and people respond. They finally might think war might not be the answer. This is why writers use imagery, irony and structure to protest war.
The poem's persona and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall depend on each other to express the poem's intention. The poem's intention is to show that war is lethal, less than gloriful, and extremely real. Although years have gone by, these recollections are still affecting how he lives. Simply standing in front of the wall reminds the speaker of all of this. The Veterans Memorial takes on a life of its own. While the speaker is in its presense, the wall controls him. It forces him to remember painful memories and even cry, something he promised himself he would not do. The persona in the poem reacts to the power the wall has and realizes that he must face his past and everything related to it, especially Vietnam.
War memorials consist of civic memorials, war cemeteries, larger national monuments, private memorials and a variety of practical designs such as parks, dedicated to remembering those involved in a conflict. Sometimes these memorials work, but other times they do not. Simply put, Camp Logan does not memorialize World War I or the fallen troops. Aside from a historical marker located on the edge of the massive Memorial Park, there are few physical remains of the camp hidden by the wooded landscape and most visitors do not know of the camp’s existence in the first place. Also, the camp played a role in some of the darkest moments in Houston history that most would rather leave forgotten. These things, especially when combined, further take away the little bit of presence that Camp Logan has in public remembrance.
...of the struggle over how the war would be remembered. Blanketed by the discourse of disability, the struggle over the memory of veterans and the country alike would be waged with such obliquity as to surpass even the most veiled operations of Nixon’s minions. While Nixon’s plumbers were wrenching together the Gainesville case against VVAW in the spring of 1972, mental health and news-media professionals were cobbling together the figure of the mentally incapacitated Vietnam veteran. More than any other, this image is the one that would stick in the minds of the American people. The psychologically damaged veteran raised a question that demanded an answer: what happened to our boys that was so traumatic that they were never the same again? As it came to be told, the story of what happened to them had less to do with the war itself than with the war against the war.
Memorials not only remind people about specific events and leaders, but also sets history in stone for future generations. When creating and building a memorial for a specific person or event, many factors should be considered. Sometimes, these memorials honor great achievement while others pay homage to deep sacrifice. However, there are many ways to memorialize people or events, locally or nationally, ranging from pictures to monuments. When considering to memorialize a person or event, agencies and groups should consider purpose, location and size of the monument in order to effectively pay homage to deep sacrifice and great achievements.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has struck my interest for the past few years. I have always been interested in historical events that impacted many lives. The Holocaust, the Berlin Wall, and World War I and II have always been something I take very seriously and I am very interested in learning about America’s history. The backstory behind the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is fascinating and after researching it more I learned new things that made me more motivated to write this essay in hopes that I get the honor of laying a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Americans from all walks of life watch, tears clouding the eyes as a young Boy Scout lays a red, white and blue wreath at the foot of the tomb. The soldier stopped and announced that all in attendance were to stand in silence, with their hand laid across their hearts. All Veterans or current military personnel are encouraged to salute. I was fascinated by the young family beside me who were visiting from France. As they all placed their hands over their hearts, I realized that American soldiers don’t just fight for America, they fight for the world.
Thousands of headstones in the far distance create magnificent mazes against the horizon. The immense land has very little room to spare as it is overflowing with graves of heroic soldiers. The white marble graves are like oversized dominos stacked precisely in the thick wind ruffled grass. It is almost inconceivable to imagine each tomb is the physical eternal home to a once courageous and patriotic warrior of our homeland. As the fireball in the heavens slowly descends, it creates a glorious silhouette of the infinite number of tombstones.
Anderson believes that Americans are good at remembering our wars, but we only remember the major wars that threatened our liberty, our freedom, or our values. Anderson says this is because we use them to remind ourselves of what sacrifice is. ...
On February 6, 2016, I had the privilege of being a chaperone for Byron Elementary School 5th grade class in Byron, Georgia on a trip to Washington D.C. However, when the students and I began to tour the different memorial sites at in Washington D.C. we came across a lot of sculptures, but the one sculpture that I felt was amazing was the Marine Corps Memorial. The Marine Corps statue was designed in honor of the men and women that served in the Marines during World War II, who gave their lives to protect the United States during the war since 1775 (Marines, 2016). The sculpture is known as the Iwo Jima Memorial, which we visited outside of the Arlington National Cemetery, which is located in the Arlington Ridge Park. The sculpture is adjacent to the Potomac River from Washington D.C.
Today, memorials are built with the purpose of remembering and connecting with the past. Although memorials and monuments are unique landscapes, it must be noted that memorials are often dedicated to those who have been victimized, while monuments offer a celebration or remembrance of a specific person or event. However, both do not fail in shaping the world as it is today. People remember, people learn, and people move on. In memorializing an event and in creating a monument, one should consider its location, cost, and meaning. Failing to do so might provoke controversy among those who are innocent and those who are against it.
After the horrors of the Vietnam War a national monument honoring the brave soldiers was asked to be developed. In 1981, Maya Lin, an undergraduate at Yale University entered her design in the nationwide competition that was sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. From more than 1,400 submissions Maya Lin’s design was picked (Vietnam Veterans Memorial). The memorial was a black granite V-shaped sunken wall, which was composed of seventy-four panels that increased its height from eight inches to more than ten feet. On the wall the names are listed in chronological order according to the date of death or the day a soldier went missing during each day, these names are alphabetized (Roberts 909). Maya Lin’s main goal was to describe a journey which “would make you experience death and where you’d have to be an observer, where you could never fully be with the dead.” (Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial). Lin’s purpose of the memorial was not to forget about the war, but in fact it was to remember the truth of what happened and be able to look back and see the horrors that occurred during the Vietnam War. Unfortunately, Maya Lin’s design of the memorial caused a lot of
The first Unknown Soldier’s corpse was from a battlefield in France. His remains were then put into a casket and sent to America. On the day of the tomb’s opening there was a large celebration that many attended to show reverence to the unknown, and to other men that died in battle. In America the soldier’s casket was followed by a large parade of military men to his resting place on top of a hill at the Arlington National Cemetery. In the video, US Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the narrator says, “In the amphitheatre of the Arlington Cemetery President Harding delivered a speech about the tomb. He then placed a congressional medal on the casket.” In this short video you can see the grief on all the civilians’ faces. This ceremony was a special part of America’s history. People were beginning to realize how real war was. People saw first hand that soldiers were putting their lives on the line for the sake of the U.S. citizens’ freedom. There were many soldiers to choose from to put into the tomb from each war. People who were high up in the military
One of the most sacred places in America is the Arlington National Cemetery. Each year heroes are laid to rest here. Families from across the nation visit Arlington throughout the year to pay respect to their love ones. Many American hero families who visit the Arlington Cemetery may have been mourning at the wrong grave.
Americans have often used art to symbolize the relationship between themselves and their history. Therefore, art is used to honor and remember someone or an event where people died, through a memorial. As an example, The National World War II Memorial is a memorial to honor and remember the people who served in World War II. The success or failure of a memorial depends on how well it represents the image that people have of a certain person or event. Especially in America because they find the construction of a national monument so controversial that no memorial has been erected in the National Mall without a discussion. The National World War II Memorial on the National Mall was a poor addition; its location diminishes the formerly open space between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, its design is vague, and it is a poor choice even when compared with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. A very good start.