End-to-end, the total number of submissions would have stretched one and one third linear miles. When they returned home from serving their country, there was no national show of gratitude. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial: from Controversy to Healing The U.S. suffered over 47,000 killed in action, Kennedy himself was assassinated in Dallas, VC and NVA units launched a massive attack, CBS evening news anchor Walter Cronkite returned to Vietnam, https://www.historynet.com/the-vietnam-war-a-history-of-americas-controversial-war/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, When 21 Sikh Soldiers Fought the Odds Against 10,000 Pashtun Warriors, Few Red Tails Remain: Tuskegee Airman Dies at 96. Sturken, 322; Anne Swartz, American Art After September 11: A Consideration of the Twin Towers, Symploke 14, nos. On March 5, 1975, the NVA invaded again. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. (Ten times as many Vietnamese had fled the north, where the Communist Party was killing off its rivals, seizing property, and oppressing the large Catholic population.) Unlike previous wars, where only still images or short movie newsreels were available for conveying images, this was Americas first television war. But several weeks after the announcement, a handful of people began to protest the design. They treated the moms the same as they treated the vets. Ho Chi Minh had been educated in Paris. Instead, the memorial became a dividing line between factions both real and imagined. 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. 5/1981 - 3/1982. movements and weakening the morale of Americans fighting in Vietnam. 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. To bring the design into reality would require an architect of record. The public wanted to have a hand in helping to build the Memorial and in honoring the warrior, not the war. Ibid. 3 (August 2004): 122. They were also the most collegial people, who would deliberate intensely but never argue or posture, Spreiregen remembered. Thirty years later, it is difficult to think of her memorial as a controversial work of art. Scruggs would never forget the awful scene. And if they were bitter, who could blame them? Scruggs, Wheeler, and Doubek then scouted the Mall sometimes by bicycle to identify the ideal spot: a stretch of parkland known as Constitution Gardens, located on the National Mall adjacent to the Lincoln Memorial. In 2009 the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund assumed responsibility for the maintenance of the site. Initially the (Senators) staff was split, recalled Monica Healy, a long-time Mathias aide, on whether Mathias should take the lead and support the efforts to build the Memorial. Having chosen Libeskinds overarching vision, titled Memory Foundations, in February 2003, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (tasked with coordinating the redevelopment of lower Manhattan and administering the nearly $10 billion in federal funds devoted to supporting that effort) two months later announced the memorial design competition. 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. On February 7, 1965, the U.S. Air Force began bombing selected sites in North Vietnam. The U.S. suffered over 47,000 killed in action plus another 11,000 non-combat deaths; over 150,000 were wounded and 10,000 missing. Peter Walker and Michael Arad. 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/. Using his findings, he testified at the Senate hearing on the Veterans Health Care Amendments Act of 1977, with the hope that he could help veterans gain access to the services and support they needed. In November, a coup deposed Diem, with the blessing of Kennedys administration, which had quietly assured South Vietnams military leaders it was not adverse to a change in leadership and military aid would continue. I ran over to see a truck on fire and a dozen of my friends dying. They had been unloading an ammunition truck when the explosion occurred. It seemed unconscionable that heor anyone elseshould be allowed to forget. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) advised that was not the caseAmerica had a strong military presence in the Pacific that would serve as a deterrent. The Vietnam Wall Controversy - About - Overview - Lehigh University Instead, Lin found John Benson, a master stonecutter, to hand cut the text at the apex the years of the earliest and latest casualties from the Department of Defense list and the brief prologue and epilogue adjacent to the dates. Some of the juror comments included: Consequently, by the time of the memorials design and construction, veterans had built up a significant amount of moral outrage and found their outlet in the controversy over the memorial. Spreiregen, a graduate of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, was a Fulbright Scholar who had served as the director of urban design programs at the American Institute of Architects (AIA) from 1962-66 and as the first director of architecture programs at the National Endowment for the Arts from 1966-70. For this reason, in Vietnam today it is known as the American War. He, in turn, called the Buddhists VC sympathizers. Earlier, in March 1968, the Americal Division had been involved in what became known as the My Lai Massacre, in which over 100 men, women and children were killed. With the site approved, VVMF scrambled to address the issues of what the Memorial would look like and who would design it. They would include a big National Salute to Vietnam Veterans at Veterans Day. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. The NVA suffered some 120,000 casualties. She is still remembered fondly by veterans for the moving Memorial she designed for them. 6 Things You May Not Know About the Vietnam Veterans Memorial 7. Diem fell from favor with his American patrons, partly over disagreements in how to handle the war against the VC and partly because of his unpopular suppression of religious sects and anyone he feared threatened his regime. Dark tourism, also known as black tourism, thanatourism or grief tourism, is tourism that is associated with death or tragedy. It was also a hard-earned victory, leaving more than 300 U.S. Larry Century, a young inventor from Cleveland, Ohio,was selected to serve as a consultant to Binswanger Glass Company in Memphis, Tennessee, which was awarded the contract for inscribing the names. Sturken, 125. Among other duties, Healy was the member of Mathias staff who handled memorials and worked as the liaison with the U.S. Department of the Interior. For Woods, 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. Here are four facts about the provocative memorial. In December Doubek became the Executive Director, working on a half-time basis for the first few months, and opened the VVMF office on January 2, 1980. Even white troops were beginning to protest. The series of events began on Wednesday, November 10, 1982, and culminated with a service at the National Cathedral on Sunday, November14. Vietnam has a long history of being ruled by foreign powers, and this led many Vietnamese to see the United States involvement in their country as neo-colonialism. Washington, D.C. Aerial view. Why was Lin's Vietnam Veterans Memorial initially controversial? For example, veteran Tom Carhart famously commented: I dont care about artistic perceptions, I dont care about the rationalizations that abound. 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. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund | 3033 Wilson Blvd, Suite 300 | Arlington VA 22201 | 202.393.0090 Jan came to our headquarters to see if we had any room to help them get started, Cupp remembered. Among South Vietnams other allies, Australia had over 400 killed and 2,400 wounded; New Zealand, over 80 KIA; Republic of Korea, 4,400 KIA; and Thailand 350 killed. It was like a Woodstock atmosphere in Washington for those who had served in Vietnam, recalled Scruggs. 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. Vietnam veteran Joseph Zengerle, then an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, volunteered the use of an aircraft hangar at Andrews Air Force Base. Cupp had experienced firsthand the pains caused by the war. Their military experience meant they had contacts far and wide, at all levels of all professions, within government and the private sector. In addition to the accounts of its creation, sev- In 1973 a third Vietnam war begana continuation, actuallybetween North and South Vietnam but without significant U.S. involvement. Why was Lin's Vietnam Veterans Memorial initially controversial? An electrical storm was interfering with the ships radar and may have given the impression of approaching attack boats. For the millions of people who visit each year, Maya Lin's Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall sends a chilling message about war, heroism, and sacrifice. The senior staffers were against it. 4 Facts About Vietnam Veterans Memorial Controversial History 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. 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. Every 15 minutes, there was a pause for prayer. They needed to secure a plot of land, raise funds and public awareness, design the Memorial, coordinate construction, and organize the dedication ceremonies. You had to live through that period to really understand it. Maya Lin worked closely with Cooper-Lecky on all aesthetic aspects of the design. By endowing memorials with the ability to accomplish these tasks, we bestow them with an extraordinary amount of power and authority. and was so hurt by the controversy . As noted above, a number of sources warned U.S. leaders against becoming embroiled in Southeast Asia. They complained about the walls being black. Reflecting Absence (planned design for memorial to victims of attacks on the World Trade Center, September 11, 2001). The Selective Service System during the Vietnam war was highly controversial, especially because early in the war draftees came disproportionately from poor, working-class, rural, and minority populations. 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. Charles Mac Mathias, a Navy veteran of World War II, had been opposed to the war in Vietnam, but he had always respected those who served in it. He was in Vietnam, serving in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade. Hanoi re-activated the Viet Minh to conduct guerilla operations in the south, with the intent of destabilizing President Diems government. Or, people would tell me, Well why did you let him go? Of course, what choice do you have?. One needs no artistic education to see this design for what it is, a black trench that scars the Mall. But the memorial might not exist in the form we see today if it weren't for the support of architects who defended the young architect's controversial design. Once Scruggs decided to build the memorial, the next step was to get some people behind him. 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. Marinesnear Van Truong, from the VC point of view. Their military experience meant they had contacts far and wide, at all levels of all professions, within government and the private sector. Based on a program the British had employed successfully against insurgents in Malaya, it didnt work in Vietnam. At that time, they just ignored you and wished you would go away. The earliest of these battles was the controversy over Lins design. Vietnam, however, was divided at the 17th parallel. The At the time of the memorials design, many veterans who had been exposed to Agent Orange, a chemical weapon used by the U.S. military as an herbicide and defoliant, still suffered ongoing health problems. Guerrilla warfare (asymmetrical warfare) does not permit such clear-cut data. 170,000220,000 military The battle was suddenly over.. 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. North Vietnam Why Were Vietnam War Vets Treated Poorly When They . 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. Moreover, could it accomplish all of that while listing the approximately 58,000 names in an artistic, meaningful way? Many had worked together, some in Washington. 12. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution - Definition, Cause & Significance - HISTORY The wars length and the growing number of casualties were fueling tensions. Financial costs had risen to $30 billion a year. 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. They needed support, friendship and help. 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. With such an overwhelming response to the competition, logistics became an issue. They set their sights in support of the clear, simple vision Scruggs outlined:to honor the warrior and not the war. Cambodia They struck at least 30 provincial capitals and the major cities of Saigon and Hue. I am tired of hearing it called such by you. Furthermore, the extreme visual simplicity of Lins monument made it easy for critics to utilize it in a concurrent debate about the merits of minimalist sculptures as public artworks. They were either ignored or shouted at and called vicious names. 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. Never in the history of the United States had a national memorial been conceived, approved, built and dedicated in that short an amount of time. 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. On April 30, 1980, the Senate approved legislation authorizing the Memorial, followed by approval in the House on May 20, 1980. 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. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Jan was a great spokesperson. Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. https://digital.lib.lehigh.edu/trial/vietnam/r3/october/, https://digital.lib.lehigh.edu/trial/vietnam/r4/1982/, https://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3407, Extending Beyond Craftsmanship, into Inquiry and Exploration, Horror, Contemporary Art, and Film: In Conversation with Dan Herschlein and Chad Laird. However, that posed a problem of how tolocate an individual name. With permit in hand, Doubek instructedto commence construction immediately. In the end, the quarry in India was selected. while the veterans were primarily concerned with the ability of the design to offer emotional comfort to veterans and the families of the dead, either in terms of forgiveness or honor.7. As Michael Clark points out in the essay, Remembering Vietnam, by the late 1960s, Hollywood and the mass media seized on this aspect of the veteran experience, creating variations of a fictionalized veteran who threatened at every moment to bring the war home with him in the form of flashbacks that turned firecrackers into artillery and passersby into the enemy.10 In Clarks analysis, these depictions of veterans served, for nonmilitary American citizens, as a way to launder the violence of the war by relegating it to some other place: Southeast Asia, and the [veterans] psychotic unconscious.11 Such representations enabled film viewers to reframe their experiences of the contemporaneous violence occurring at home, on American soil. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. It seemed unfair and inappropriate that there should be no recognition.. Over the next few years, as the war came to a close and more and more troops returned home, the media began to paint a picture of the stereotypical Vietnam veteran: drug addicted, bitter, discontented, and unable to adjust to life back home.