More than 3 million people (including over 58,000 Americans) were killed in the Vietnam War, and more than half of the dead were Vietnamese civilians. Communist forces ended the war by seizing control of South Vietnam in 1975, and the country was unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam the following year.
Design and LayoutMaya 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. To achieve this effect she chose polished black granite for the walls.
Building a memorial to the veterans of the Vietnam War was the idea of Jan Scruggs. Scruggs was a former infantry corporal during the Vietnam War. A group of Vietnam veterans established the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. in 1979.
Maya Lin: Vietnam Veterans MemorialThe design aroused a great deal of controversy, reflecting the lack of resolution of the national conflicts over the war as well as the lack of consensus over what constituted an appropriate memorial at the end of the 20th century.
Those who argue that the United States won the war point to the fact that the U.S. defeated communist forces during most of Vietnam's major battles. They also assert that the U.S. overall suffered fewer casualties than its opponents. The U.S. military reported 58,220 American casualties.
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 remain missing.
What techniques did Maya Lin use to design the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as a place for people to contemplate and remember? She tapered a V-shaped walkway and granite. The stone is polished to the point of being a mirror.
The National Park Service offers these steps for locating a name:
- Look up the name in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Directory of Names.
- Note the panel and line number for the name listed.
- Locate the corresponding panel at the Memorial.
- Locate the line on which the name is inscribed.
For instance, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, the number of U.S. military and civilian personnel still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War was given as 1,621 as of March 23, 2016. Then as of December 21, 2018, the number of U.S. military and civilian personnel still unaccounted for is 1,592.
In 1973, when the POWs were released, roughly 2,500 servicemen were designated “missing in action” (MIA). As of 2015, more than 1,600 of those were still “unaccounted-for.” The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) of the U.S. Department of Defense lists 687 U.S. POWs as having returned alive from the Vietnam War.
It is more notable, perhaps, only because his was the first name engraved into The Wall. The names of Army Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand and Major Dale Buis are inscribed on Panel 1E of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall.
The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall is a 3/5 scale that stands six feet tall at the center and covers almost 300 feet from end to end. Vietnam and All Veterans of Brevard, located in Brevard County, Florida, manages the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall.
Who designed Vietnam War Memorial?
When was Vietnam Veterans Memorial built?
Among the roughly 11,000 American women stationed in Vietnam, Lane was the only one killed by hostile fire during the decadeslong war. Seven other women died in accidents and illnesses.
