Banks Jaquith
English
Carter/ Morrison 8-5
18 April 2017
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
In the Vietnam Veterans Memorial there are many things to see. In the Vietnam Memorial there is history of how the wall was made, why the wall was built, why some women are on the wall, and shows us the casualties of the Vietnam War.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built in November 13, 1982 in Washington D.C. “On March 11, 1982, the design and plans received final Federal approval, and work at the site was begun on March 16, 1982. Groundbreaking took place on March 26, 1982. The Gilbane Building Company acted as the general contractor, and the architectural firm of Cooper-Lecky Partnership supervised the construction. The Memorial was completed
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in late October and dedicated on November 13, 1982.”(“Wall”) The build was funded by the VVMF. “The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. (VVMF) raised nearly $9,000,000 entirely through private contributions from corporations, foundations, unions, veterans and civic organizations and more than 275,000 individual Americans. No Federal funds were needed.”(“Wall”) No funds were needed because the Memorial already had a Fund.“The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. (VVMF) officially transferred control of the Memorial to the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior and it became a national monument.”(“Wall”) All of this work was founded by Jan Scruggs. The wall is a nickname for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
"The official name of the Memorial is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It is sometimes referred to as the VVM.”(“Wall”) The VVM is the most common way people refer to it. The VVM announced “in October, 1980, that the Memorial's design would be selected through a national design competition open to any U.S. citizen 18 years of age or older. By December 29, 1980, 2,573 individuals and teams had applied for registration forms. By the deadline of March 31, 1981, 1,421 design entries had been submitted. All entries were judged anonymously by a jury of eight internationally recognized artists and designers, who had been selected by VVMF. The winning design was chosen on May 1, 1981. The designs were displayed at an airport hangar at Andrews Air Force Base for the selection committee, in rows covering more than 35,000 square feet of floor space. Each entry was identified by number only, to preserve the anonymity of their authors. All entries were examined by each juror; the entries were narrowed down to 232, finally 39.”(“Wall”) The judges varied from wide ranges. “The judges included two landscape architects, two structural architects, an expert on urban development and landscape, and three sculptors. …show more content…
Pie tro Belluschi, architect; Grady Clay, author; Garrett Eckbo, landscape architect; Richard H. Hunt, sculptor; Costantino Nivola, sculptor; James Rosati, sculptor; Hideo Sasaki, landscape architect; and Harry Weese, architect. Paul D. Spreiregen served as competition professional adviser.”(Wall) The memorial consists of many people who fought for their country. “The memorial includes the names of over 58,000 servicemen and women who gave their lives in service in the Vietnam Conflict.”(“Basic”) The Vietnam Veterans Memorial highlights how many women died due to the Vietnam War. “1st Lt. Sharon Ann Lane died from shrapnel wounds when the 312th Evac. at Chu Lai was hit by rockets on June 8, 1969. From Canton, OH, she was a month short of her 26th birthday. She was posthumously awarded the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm and the Bronze Star for Heroism.”(“Women”) Another women who did on the wall Capt. Klinker. ”Capt. Klinker, a flight nurse assigned to Clark Air Base in the Philippines, was on the C-5A Galaxy which crashed on April 4 outside Saigon while evacuating Vietnamese orphans. She was awarded the Airman's Medal for Heroism and the Meritorious Service Medal.”(“Women”) Another group of women who died due to the War is Lt. Drazba and Lt. Jones. “Lt. Drazba and Lt. Jones were assigned to the 3rd Field Hospital in Saigon. They died in a helicopter crash near Saigon, February 18, 1966. Drazba was from Dunmore, PA, Jones from Allendale, SC.”(Women”) This shows us how people suffered even though they didn’t fight. Many people have died in the Vietnam War and are being honored in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. “There are 58,178 casualties in the SouthEast part of Asia due to enemies, their wounds, they went missing, were captured, died of diseases, or starvation.”(“Military”) This just how many people in the SouthEast part of Asia. “There are 5,572 people who died from California due to paygrade or race.”(“Military”) “There are 3,095 people who died from Ohio in the War due diseases or their pay grade.” This just shows us how bad segregation still was in the times of war. “There are 34,464 regular troops who died in the Vietnam War.”(MIlitary) This does not include Air Force, Navy, or the National Guard. In the Vietnam Memorial there is who built the memorial, who’s idea was it to build the wall, why women are being honored on the wall, and why so many people died to the war.
The main reason the history of the wall is important is so we know that people who died fighting for a country are honored for what they died and not punished. The importance of the reason why it was built is so we know that we can always see that people have fought and died for us. The importance of why women are on the wall is so we don’t think that women didn’t do anything in the war while they played a big part. The importance of knowing the casualties in the war is we know that we are honored to be apart of the United States and have people willing to die for us
everyday.
Lin's work, unlike most previous military monuments, rejects the emphasis on heroics in favor of a poignant, contemplative, apolitical design which conveys an almost unbearable sense of loss. Simple, graceful, and abstract, the design specified two 246.75 foot long walls of polished black southern India granite, set below grade and connected at a 125 degree angle.2 Each segment of the wall is composed of 70 panels. At their intersection, the walls are 10.1 feet high and they taper down to a height of 8 inches at their extremities.3 The largest panels have 137 lines of names.4 The smallest panels have just one line. Each line consists of five names, which were sandblasted into the polished surface by hand, rather than cut into it with machine tools.5 Currently, the monument wall lists the names of 58,175 members of the armed forces who were confirmed killed or listed as missing in action during the Vietnam War.6
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.
The Vietnam War was a rough time for many soldiers. Memories of home, loved ones, comfort, happiness, a normal life, everything was left behind to do their duties as soldiers. They carried with them many mementos of their life at home; that way they had some kind of life to hang onto to give them the hope and comfort they needed to keep themselves pushing forward. Though, many others have done the same and kept objects to hold onto to remind themselves that there is hope and that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Despite the Vietnam War and World War I taking place during different time periods, these two wars are extremely similar because of the way they are presented in history.
History has a strange way of coming back around when it comes to human civilization. It has been said repeatedly that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. However, just because there is a potential for danger in the future, this does not mean that humanity must ignore what once was. History is normally remembered through what is known as a memorial. When a memorial is put into a physical representation, it is then known as a monument.The need to memorialize events or people is complex; in some cases, monuments honor moments of great achievement, while in other cases, monuments pay homage to deep sacrifice. A monument's size, location, and materials are all considerations in planning and creating a memorial to the past. Examples of such feats are the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and even Mount Rushmore. For the latter of the
Tragic events occur not only in the United States, but also all over the world. From these tragic events communities, families, and the government decide to place memorials for people that were lost and as a thank you for people protecting the citizens of the country. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, The Wall, in Washington D.C. is one of these cases. However, what exactly was the purpose of this memorial? The purpose of putting up the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was not only to thank the veterans for their bravery, but to remind future generations about happened during the Vietnam War. Also, the memorial is important to help people and the veterans to accept the fact that the war actually
...ght them that they were given the same opportunities as whites in the military. The women wanted to also be recognized for their hard work in the military and for traditional male labor jobs. If it weren’t for the women, many bombs, ammunition even tanks wouldn’t have been made or even ran out. Thus the bracero program brought many Mexicans to the United States for work and was paid a low wage. Many struggled with the low wage and horrible living conditions; when their contract was up, many were forced to go back to Mexico. After the war, Many Mexican Americans were discriminated and weren’t respected for the service they put themselves through in order to protect our freedom. Many people have forgotten what the men, women, and programs within WWII did for the United States, and now they are fully remembered on how many of them fought for the future we live in today.
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.
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.
A description of the wall is necessary in order to provide a base for comparison with the rest of the story. Because we only get the narrator s point of view, descriptions of the wall become more important as a way of judging her deteriorating mental state. When first mentioned, she sees the wall as a sprawling, flamboyant pattern committing every artistic sin, (Gilman 693) once again emphasizing her present intellectual capacity. Additionally, the w...
Not only are military heroes buried at Arlington, but memorials have also been built to honor others who have given their lives for America. The memorials that are located throughout Arlington tell a story about people throughout American history (Reef 43). Each year families walk the endless rows of white head stones at Arlington in order to pay their respects to the ones that have given their lives for America.
I chose the easy route of interview my grandpa (Dean Randel) who served in World War II as flight deck operator that signaled the aircrafts and got them ready for flight. He was station in San Diego on the USS Wisconsin which was of course a aircraft carrier. As I grew up he always told me stories of the good times he had with buddies and just living the good life. This is a first for me to sit down one on one with him and hear about what went on. Before I could even get a word in my grandpa ask me, “Do you know how Veterans Day was brought about?” I was so shock he was into doing this that I just shut my mouth and listened. He continued by saying in 1921, an American soldier -his name "known but to God "-was buried on a Virginia hillside overlooking the Potomac River and the city of Washington, DC. The burial site of this unknown World War I soldier in Arlington National Cemetery symbolized dignity and pride for all American veterans. Similar ceremonies occurred earlier in England and France, where an "unknown soldier” was buried in each nation’s highest place of honor (I later researched and found out it was in England, Westminster Abbey; in France, the Arc de Triomphe). These memorial gestures all took place on November 11, giving universal recognition to the celebrated ending of World War I hostilities at 11 a.m., November 11, 1918 (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month). The day became known as "Armistice Day.”Armistice Day of...
The Vietnam War Memorial has reduced some of the toughest, proudest, and most disciplined in the world to tears. For when a veteran returns to the wall, he may recognize a few members of a platoon that he spent a few of his best years with, and what is left of that man? The other effect of the wall is that if a veteran recognizes a single name, that one name will carry a story, a legacy, and a history with him.
The Memorial is located in Washington, DC in an area of the city known as "The Mall" (Weeks, AIA Guide to the Architecture of Washington DC, pg.61). It is dedicated to America's third president, Thomas Jefferson.. Jefferson was a man of many talents, in addition to being president Jefferson was once a statesman, architect, drafter of the Declaration of Independence, adviser on the Constitution, and founder of the University of Virginia (Pamela Scott and Antoinette Lee, Buildings of the District of Columbia, pg. 102). The Memorial was officially dedicated in April 1943, on Jefferson's 200th birthday, by FDR. The Jefferson Memorial is surrounded by other national monuments, some of which are the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The chief architect responsible for designing and building the Jefferson Memorial was John Russell Pope in 1939 to 1943. Pope was a neoclassicist who was inspired by the Roman Pantheon. The Memorial's basic form is a domed rotunda fronted by a Greek portico, or entrance porch, and surrounded by Ionic columns. At first glance ...
“The Vietnam war was a costly and very long conflict that eroded the communist regime of North Vietnam and its allies against the South Vietnam and its ally, us the United States of America (Unknown Source).” The Vietnam War began on the eve of 1959, causing a struggle between two of our major national forces. These two forces were attempting to unify the country the both love, Vietnam.
The Vietnam War took action after the First Indochina War, in fact the Vietnam War is also known as the Second Indochina War. This war included the communist North Vietnam and its allies of the Viet Cong, the Soviet Union, China and other communist allies going against South Vietnam and its allies, the Unites States, Philippines and other anti-communist allies. It was a very long and conflicting war that actually started in 1954 and ended in 1975. The war began after the rise to power of Ho Chi Minh and his communist party in North Vietnam. More than three million people were killed during the war, this included approximately 58,000 Americans and more than half of the killed were actually Vietnamese civilians. The Vietnam War ended by the communist forces giving up control of Saigon and the next year the country was then unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Many people, including both men and women were directly and indirectly involved within the war itself. Women worked many different roles in the Vietnam War, and they are most definitely not credited enough for all that they actually did.