Anthony Chatman
8/5/2014
The Vietnam Memorial

The purpose of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is to honor members of the United States Armed Forces who fought and died during the Vietnam War. The memorial consists of a 250-foot long series of polished black walls sunk into the ground. On the walls are inscribed 58,000 names of servicemen who were declared Killed in Action or Missing in Action during the Vietnam War. The names are listed in chronological order beginning at the top of the wall and visitors who come to view the names are able to see their own reflection in the black walls. The end points of the wall point to the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. A few feet away from the entrance to the wall is statue of three soldiers in clothes that would be exactly as they would have been during the Vietnam War. They are called “The Three Soldiers.”
The wall evokes diverse individual reflections on the Vietnam War because of its design. The wall is among the most famous monuments to American history on the Washington Mall, its difference from other forms of memorial reflect the controversy surrounding the Vietnam War. The Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, are both designed with pillars and white granite, and is are seen. The Vietnam Memorial however, is not visible until you are almost on top of it. If you approach it from behind it almost disappears into the land. The memorial represents the stigma brought upon veterans returning home from the war. The wall reflects the feelings of veterans. They have a feeling of abandonment while at the same time the memorial provides a safe haven for remembrance. It does not have a narrative but instead promotes personal reflection. It leaves individuals to analyze and interpret their memories as they will.
The names inscribed upon the wall directly represents an individual. The names as representations of individuals tend to generate very specific memories about that individual. To list the names of every fallen soldier and have no reference to how they died or the country they fought for immediately highlights the individual. By visiting the names and locating soldiers people know and lost, visitors are able reflect in very personal and specific memories.
The names are arranged along the length of the wall in chronological order of death throughout the course of the war. The design is not just a list of the dead. When you find one name you will see yourself reflected through them. The names also exhibit an abstract idea in their ability to mirror the individual viewer. The chronological grouping of soldiers, groups soldiers who died around the same time together, causing other veterans reflecting on the names of their comrades to see their own sacrifice and beliefs mirrored in the reflective surface of the wall. This portrays an abstract sense to the returning veteran’s own sacrifice, while at the same time memorializing a given person.
In contrast to the wall, “The Three Soldiers” is as an example of a traditional memorial. The statue was meant to portray the soldiers exactly as they existed during the war, right down to the diversity of ethnicities. It was designed to serve as the humanizing face of the war. “The Three Soldiers” focuses on a specific aspect of the war, the soldiers. It evokes emotions of pride and acceptance for the soldiers’ efforts and sacrifice. While the statue presents a more patriotic and sympathetic view towards the war, it is limited because it provokes a diverse spread of memories and de-personalizes the memorial itself.
Visiting the wall becomes a personal memory in itself for the viewer that mimics actual remembrance of the Vietnam War. The form of the memorial is structured to arouse the feelings and emotions of the war, regardless of whether the viewer experienced the war or not. For those unfamiliar with the Vietnam War, the wall and inscribed names serve simply as teaching of significant loss surrounding the war and the identities of those who fought. The experience of war can be felt in the structure of the memorial as well. Viewers experience the sharp violence of the Vietnam War as they enter the memorial and confront the enormity of the loss as they descend further along the wall. Overall, the experience of visiting the wall becomes a personal memory that mimics actual memory of the Vietnam War.