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. He had studied the work of psychiatrist Carl Jung, a student of Sigmund Freud, who wrote of shared societal values. By the time the compromise statue is dedicated, a move for the addition of a women's memorial is already underway. Wheeler suggested that it should be a landscaped solution: a peaceful, park-like setting that could exist harmoniously with the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. In the fall of 1980, VVMF announced the national design competition open to any U.S. citizen, who was over 18 years old. Tensions between blacks and whites had been intensifying for years as African Americans sought to change centuries-old racial policies. By early 1980, contributions started to arrive. 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. By years end, 2,573 individuals and teams had registered almost 3,800 people in total. Also known as "America's Longest War," U.S. involvement in Vietnam War did not end until 1973. Once there was no more room for conflictthe memorials form, upon dedication, was no longer negotiablethe front in this culture war moved elsewhere. 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. 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. Some antiwar protestors blamed the men and women who served in Vietnam, taunting them and spitting on them when they came home. 3) It provoked antiwar sentiment. During President Dwight Eisenhowers administration (19531961), financial aid was given to pay South Vietnams military forces and American advisors were sent to help train them. The controversy surrounding the memorial instantly vanished from the pages of the press, replaced by celebrations of its interactivity, tranquility, and emotive power. 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 number of parties who claimed direct investmentwhether emotional, psychological, or financialin the site and its future form and use only made the issue more complex and difficult to resolve. The VC was effectively finished; it would not field more than 25,00040,000 troops at any time for the remainder of the war. The construction process hits a snag when relentless and powerful critics, led by Tom Carhart, find an unsavory political message in the supposedly apolitical winning design -- ultimately forcing a compromise, the addition of a flag and a statue with three soldiers to the Wall. The Gold Star Mothers is a group of mothers whose sons or daughters have died serving their country. Movies were dealing more realistically with their issues. Direct mail was proving to be a highly effective fundraising tool. ARVN divisions in the north were surrounded and routed. 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. 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. But the meeting gave Scruggs his first ally: former Air Force intelligence officer and attorney Robert Doubek, who thought a memorial was a good idea. Sturken, 320. Although the United States won the war in a numerical sense, having far less casualties than North Vietnam, the U.S. did not accomplish what they had set out to do. . The following week, Kurt Anderson recapped the festivities for TIME magazine: Saturdays three-hour parade down Constitution Avenue, led by [Gen. William] Westmoreland, was the vets own show. This lends a sense of personal intimacy in a public space which helps create a sense of connection to the memorial. Success was measured in body count. It was to be a war of attrition and statistics, a policy that suited Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, who distrusted the military and often bypassed the Joint Chiefs of Staff in issuing directives. In accordance with the strict competition guidelines, anonymity of all designs was carefully observed. North Vietnamese officers, after the war, said the only thing they feared was an American-led invasion of the north, but the U.S. was not going to risk starting World War III, and at the time that seemed to loom as a distinct possibility. You had to live through that period to really understand it. The chief design criteria were that the memorial be 1) reflective and contemplative in character; 2) be harmonious with its site and environment, 3) make no political statement about the war itself, and 4) contain the names of all who died or remained missing. On one side were the proponents of Lins memorials, defined in the media and the public imagination as Wolfes elitist art mullahs, draft dodgers, the future New Leftists, and, of course, followers of Jane Fonda (infamously dubbed Hanoi Jane after a trip to North Vietnam, during which she made statements condemning the U.S. military). The NVA suffered some 120,000 casualties. Intellectually and emotionally, America could embrace the idea. In large part, this was accomplished through a series of conflicts waged at the level of culture. It was a whirlwind of events, and the press coverage was unbelievable. Popular dark tourism attractions include Auschwitz, Chernobyl and Ground Zero. In retaliation for the invasion, and in hopes of forcing Hanoi to negotiate in good faith, Nixon ordered Haiphong harbor in North Vietnam to be mined and he intensified bombing of North Vietnam. 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. 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. Scruggs and Doubek realized that Cupp could be instrumental in helping communicate the all-important personal, emotional side of the healing story. ), For three solid months, Spreiregen, Mosley, Woods, and Doubek planned the competition. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built without government funds. Once Scruggs decided to build the memorial, the next step was to get some people behind him. 19. Architectural drawings and a one-page written summary, 1980 or 1981. After Lins monument was dedicated on November 13, 1982, however, it became a popular and moving tourist attraction. Peter Walker and Michael Arad. Overview Military conscription, commonly known as "the draft," is one of the most complex topics related to the Vietnam War. 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 veteran Joseph Zengerle, then an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, volunteered the use of an aircraft hangar at Andrews Air Force Base. 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. to the memorial, as well as the rituals that take place there and what role the memorial may be playing in the construction of a his-tory of the Vietnam War.8 Beyond the academic discourse, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial has also in-spired a considerable popular literature. But how and where could all of the submissions be displayed? It consists of a black granite wall with the names of over 58,000 soldiers who were killed or went missing in action inscribed on it. Lin became a design consultant to the architect of record. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. Their military experience meant they had contacts far and wide, at all levels of all professions, within government and the private sector. She was regularly swept up and raced to the bomb shelter with her parents and siblings. The VC and NVA dragged off as many of their dead and wounded as possible, sometimes impressing villagers into performing this task during battles, so determining their casualties was guesswork based on such things as the number of blood trails. Scruggs and Doubek met with Mathias to outline their plans. Two nights later, Maddox and the destroyer USS Turner Joy were on patrol in the Gulf and reported they were under attack. Its primary goal was to demoralize the North Vietnamese and diminish their manufacturing and transportation abilities. The priorities were to launch fund raising and achieve passage of the authorizing legislation. 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.. Together, we can make sure our heroes will get the reverence they deserve and the stories and sacrifices of our heroes will never be forgotten. Washington, D.C. Aerial view. They were either ignored or shouted at and called vicious names. Two younger monks poured a mix of gasoline and jet fuel over him and, as the three had planned, set fire to him. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). VVMF met the prospective jurors and scrutinized their credentials. The jury evaluation took place over five days, from April 27 through May 1, 1981. 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. Selecting a design that would meet the criteria demanded a jury that could grasp the significance of the Memorials purpose and understand the unique needs of Vietnam veterans, their families, and a country divided. Mao Zedongs Communist Party had won the Chinese Civil War in 1949, and western governmentsparticularly that of the U.Sfeared communist expansion throughout Southeast Asia. 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. But instead of enthusiasm, he received skepticism. He found that returning veterans were finding it hard to trust people. 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. On January 27, 1973, peace accords were signed between North Vietnam and the U.S. Many who visit leave behind items in memoriam to those that have served. When I meet Vietnam veterans who stop me to say thank you for creating the Memorial, I always want to say: thank you, for the service and sacrifices that all of you have made in service to your country, she added. 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. One day in October 1969, fifteen members of the Americal Division wore black armbands while they were on patrol, the symbol antiwar protestors wore in the states. The names are inscribed in the chronological order of their dates of casualty, showing the war as a series of individual human sacrifices and giving each name a special place in history. Cambodia Some felt that the money to build a memorial could be better spent delivering the many services veterans needed. For the first time, MACV worked with South Vietnams government to create annual plans. Timing is everything, and enough time had passed. (Some in the North Vietnamese government thought the course of war in the south was unwise, but they were overruled.) 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. The National Park Service archives most of the nonperishable items left at The Wall. 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. In the early 20th century, Vietnamese nationalism began to rise, clashing with the French colonial rulers. The controversy overshadowed the mission and what we were doing, until the Salute brought it all together. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. (Credit: In Pictures Ltd./Corbis via Getty Images) . The idea for a memorial seemed like a natural extension of his work and his growing desire to find a way to help veterans. 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. By the March 31, 1981, deadline, 1,421 design entries were submitted for judging. In previous war, progress and setbacks could be shown on maps; large enemy units could be engaged and destroyed. Please leave evidence I will report anything other than this 1 See answer Advertisement lheduardomarques Usually it refers to the period when the United States and other members of the SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization) joined the forces with the Republic of South Vietnam to contest communist forces, comprised of South Vietnamese guerrillas and regular-force units, generally known as Viet Cong (VC), and . 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. Dana Joy Helwick explains how, and why, she uses contemporary artists as role models in her classroom. But I was always impressed with the example my parents set.. 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. We had been friends for a long time, Mathias said. Others questioned the intent of the Memorial. 5. This message of personal responsibility, in contrast to governance by an elite group on behalf of individuals, became a hallmark of the Reagan administration. Just before Christmas 1979, Warner hosted a fundraising breakfast in his Georgetown home. 13. This presented the new MACV commander (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam), General William C. Westmoreland with a thorny challenge: how to show the American people progress was being made. An author, teacher, and lecturer, Spreiregen had written the authoritative book on design competitions. 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. Descriptions of the desired qualities for the memorial design included harmonious, contemplative and reflective, and again, conciliatory.2 The booklet concluded with the following passage: Finally, we wish to repeat that the memorial is not to be a political statement, and that its purpose is to honor the service and memory of the wars dead, its missing, and its veteransnot the war itself. The memorial, located near the western end of the Mall, is a black granite V-shaped wall inscribed with the names of the approximately 58,000 men and women who were killed or missing in action. Scruggs was raised in a rural Maryland town between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. His mother was a waitress; his father a milkman. The Vietnam War is the commonly used name for the Second Indochina War, 1954-1975. They found that they were very real people who did many of the same things they did, recalled Spreiregen. Could it heal the chasm within society, promote closure, show gratitude to those who served, comfort those in grief, and remind future generations of the toll wrought by war? The families of service members who were missing in action originally wanted their names listed separately. Every day, park rangers collect and tag the items, noting which wall panel each item was left beneath. But it is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could. The series of events began on Wednesday, November 10, 1982, and culminated with a service at the National Cathedral on Sunday, November14. Johnson wanted to focus on instituting Great Society programs at home, but Vietnam was a snake he did not dare let go of. The Inspiration. Compounding the pain was that societys ill treatment of the veterans extended to their families. This began a series of destabilizing changes in government leadership. During the Second World War, Vichy France could do little to protect its colony from Japanese occupation. Perhaps thats an appropriate design for those who would spit on us still. It was like a Woodstock atmosphere in Washington for those who had served in Vietnam, recalled Scruggs. Why was the Vietnam women's memorial so significant? This grew into the operation known as Rolling Thunder that began on March 2, 1965, and continued to November 2, 1968. The NVA had to take over. It seemed unconscionable that heor anyone elseshould be allowed to forget. In addition to the accounts of its creation, sev- Or, people would tell me, Well why did you let him go? Of course, what choice do you have?. I heard that those present agreed to double their contributions after Taylor completed her remarks, Scruggs said. (Woods continues to serve on VVMFs Board of Directors to this day. Before the 1880s, the French controlled Vietnam. 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. Both sides were fighting a war of attrition, so communist commanders sent Hanoi battle reports that often were pure fantasy. An official groundbreaking ceremony was held on March 26, 1982. Like the war itself, this memorialization was highly controversial, but the site has become the most frequently visited memorial in Washington, D.C., drawing over 4 million visitors annually. 10. The earliest of these battles was the controversy over Lins design. Its detractors perceived it as a monument to defeat, one that spoke more directly to a nations guilt than to the honor of the war dead and the veterans, describing it as the black gash of shame, the degrading ditch, and a wailing wall for draft dodgers and New Lefters of the future.4 Responding to its lack of narrative content, Senator James Webb called it nihilistic. Interestingly (given their opposing political positions), both the National Review and the New Republic equated the list of names with a police report on a traffic accident. General Westmoreland had been promoted to Army Chief of Staff and replaced in Vietnam by Gen. Creighton Abrams. As the commentaries of Wolfe, the New Republic, and the National Review demonstrate, the media was happy to add fuel to the fire of the veterans indignation through editorial contributions and obsessive coverage of the debate. American drawdown continued, with only 43,000 personnel left in-country by mid-August. The Memorials walls point to the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, thus bringing the Memorial into the historical context of our country. 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. The choice of the lettering style Optima, designed by Hermann Zapf was a font Lin selected after considering a multitude of options.The font Optima seemed to fit that desire to match an almost printed quality with a hand-cut feel. To achieve this effect she chose polished black granite for the walls. Lins minimal plan was in sharp contrast to the traditional format for a memorial, which usually included figurative heroic sculpture. He had been a war correspondent during World War II and had reported from Vietnam during Americas early involvement. Maya Lin, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 198182. President Johnson, watching the broadcast, said, If weve lost Walter Cronkite, weve lost the country. In May, Johnson announced he would not run for reelection. Warner, who had served as Secretary of the Navy during the war, was himself a veteran of World War II and the Korean War. He, in turn, called the Buddhists VC sympathizers. Jack was the visionary, the creative, big-picture guy. 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. Then, on March 30, 1972, the North Vietnamese attacked across the 17th parallel with 14 divisions and additional individual regiments. Most, like the Lincoln Memorial, were competitions between select designers. With the jury selected, the next task was to announce and promote the competition. Security was improving even as American forces were in the process of withdrawing. As conservatives sought to consolidate their gains following Reagans election, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial controversy presented an opportunity for conservatives to harness both the affective power of the veterans fury and the resulting public outcry on their behalf. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, located in Washington D.C., is a tribute to the soldiers who served in the Vietnam War. The South Vietnamese Army was showing improvement, winning 37 of their last 45 major engagements. In the end, the quarry in India was selected. Hi, Im Claire. The truth was, veterans were no more likely to be addicted to drugs than those who did not serve. 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. Some of the juror comments included: 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. Black is not a color of shame. They were also keenly aware that the legislation made the Memorials design subject to the approval of the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), and the Secretary of the Interior. A lingering question of the war is what might have happened if Eisenhower and Ho had arranged a meeting; possibly, an accord could have been reached, or possibly Ho was simply seeking to limit American involvement, in order to more easily depose the Diem government. Ultimately, the Commission of Fine Arts, which had the final say in the matter, overruled Lins objections. The first phase encompassed the detail planning and preparations for holding the competition, said Spreiregen. It was the reminder that the men who died in Vietnam all had faces and names, as well as friends and families who loved them dearly. The war became the central rallying point of a burgeoning youth counterculture, and the coming years would see many such demonstrations, dividing generations and families.. On Christmas Eve, in Saigon, a VC set off an explosive at the American officers billet in the old Brink Hotel, killing two Americans and 51 South Vietnamese. Corruption and instability in South Vietnams government did not instill confidence in its people, or in the Americans working with it. When the veterans began to return home they were greeted not with cheers and shouts of joy that soldiers met when they came home from WW2. That disparity would decline before the war ended, but the racial tensions at home began to insert themselves into the military in Vietnam, damaging unit morale. Not only was Harts statue included at the memorial site, but a flagpole was added as well. To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory, conclusion. It ended with communist victory in April 1975. Oooo, not any more, not any more. 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.