why was the vietnam war memorial so controversial?

A cadre was drawn from those who went north; they were trained, equipped and sent back to the south to aid in organizing and guiding the insurgency. No government funds would be necessary. Crowd at the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 1982. The domino fell but did not take down any of those around it. One film that came out early that year,The Deer Hunter,explored the effects of war on three friends, their families and a tight-knit community. Nonsense. Why the Battle for Hamburger Hill Was So Controversial. The priorities were to launch fund raising and achieve passage of the authorizing legislation. That would have made any negotiation with Ho politically ticklish. The public wanted to have a hand in helping to build the Memorial and in honoring the warrior, not the war. In July 1980, Congress passed a bill authorizing three acres on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to serve as the memorial site. Just before Christmas 1979, Warner hosted a fundraising breakfast in his Georgetown home. Ike may not have seen the message, but at any rate he was focused on establishing NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) as a wall against additional communist advances in Europe and was intent on securing Frances participation in NATO. 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? The Memorial had several purposes, he explained. This began a series of destabilizing changes in government leadership. As VVMF focused on fundraising, Sens. Swartz, 95. Vietnam: A History of America's Controversial War Michael Clark, Remembering Vietnam, Cultural Critique 3 (Spring 1986): 50. The design competition also needed to be able to attract design competitors.. Laos, South Vietnam: 850,000 The hope is that the creation of the Memorial will begin a healing process, Doubek wrote. What is dark tourism and why is it so popular? For this reason, in Vietnam today it is known as the American War. The series of events began on Wednesday, November 10, 1982, and culminated with a service at the National Cathedral on Sunday, November14. Others questioned the intent of the Memorial. PDF A New World - US History Options Free of overt historical reference to either the Egyptian or Greco-Roman traditions of monument designthe main visual touchstones for American memorial-buildingLins design broke with these traditions through its use of black granite, polished to a reflective smoothness (instead of white limestone or marble); its horizontal orientation, submerged into the earth instead of rising vertically; and its lack of any figurative ornamentation or any embellishment at all, save for the chronological listing of names of soldiers killed in the course of the war, etched into the granites mirror-like surface. Then, in October 1980, veteran and lawyer Tom Carhart, also a former supporter, testified before the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) against the design, saying that One needs no artistic education to see this design for what it is, a black trench that scars the Mall. But the war news was hopeful. Four of the eight were themselves veterans of previous wars. One needs no artistic education to see this design for what it is, a black trench that scars the Mall. The division was supposed to be temporary: elections were to be held in both sections in 1956 to determine the countrys future. Why the Vietnam War Memorial is amazing - Military Times 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. Healing meant many things to many people. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution - Definition, Cause & Significance - HISTORY Private Funding No government funds were used to build the memorial, only public land. Though its location on federally owned property and its maintenance by the National Park Service might imply otherwise, the impetus to create the Vietnam Veterans Memorial came entirely from the private sector and from one man in particular: Jan Scruggs, a Vietnam veteran who had been wounded in the line of duty. On March 5, 1975, the NVA invaded again. The jury included: architects Pietro Belluschi and Harry Weese; landscape architects Hideo Sasaki and Garrett Eckbo; sculptors Costantino Nivola, Richard Hunt, and James Rosati; and Grady Clay, a journalist and editor of Landscape Architecture magazine. The timing and scale of the offensive caught ARVN, the U.S. and other SEATO troops by surprise, however. VVMF met the prospective jurors and scrutinized their credentials. It seemed every time they contacted someone, they were greeted with enthusiasm for the idea. The two sections were not unlike North and South in the United States prior to the Civil War; their people did not fully trust each other. 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/. 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. When the winning Vietnam Veterans Memorial design was dedicated on November 13, 1982, a storm of controversy followed. At the time, well-managed open design competitions were common in Europe, but not in the United States. When the time came, however, Diem resisted the elections; the more populous north would certainly win. While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. Two younger monks poured a mix of gasoline and jet fuel over him and, as the three had planned, set fire to him. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. Mathias set up a meeting so he could learn more. Ibid. 2. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. 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. Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Wikipedia Warner, at the time married to Elizabeth Taylor, had strong connections to both Hollywood and the corporate world. A few of the most vocal opponents, including James Webb and H. Ross Perot, had previously been strong supporters of a memorial. The truth was, veterans were no more likely to be addicted to drugs than those who did not serve. 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. The 15,000 in uniforms and civvies, walked among floats, bands and baton twirlers. ARVN divisions in the north were surrounded and routed. I heard that those present agreed to double their contributions after Taylor completed her remarks, Scruggs said. Security was improving even as American forces were in the process of withdrawing. 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. Daniel Libeskind. Wheeler had the idea to bypass the traditional site selection route and have Congress pass legislation to award a specific area for a memorial site. 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. Critics of Lins design proposed that a second work be included on the memorial site, as a solution to the problem of the original memorial design: a figurative bronze statue by Frederick Hart of three soldiers in uniform, which had placed third in the initial competition. Although publicly the war in the south was described as a civil war within South Vietnam, it was guided, equipped and reinforced by the communist leadership in Hanoi. The flag-waving crowds even cheered., Over the four days there were also workshops, parties, events, and reunions. But can America truly mean that we should feel honored by that black pit?6. 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. movements and weakening the morale of Americans fighting in Vietnam. The Vietnam War was a divisive and politically polemic war. Doubek approached Scruggs after the meeting and suggested that he form a nonprofit corporation as a vehicle to build a memorial. Vietnam Veterans Memorial - U.S. Department of Defense An official groundbreaking ceremony was held on March 26, 1982. Post-war, the French tried to re-establish control but faced organized opposition from the Viet Minh (short for Viet Nam Doc Lap Dong Minh Hoi, or League for the Independence of Vietnam), led by Ho Chi Minh and Giap. 10. When the 18-year-old Scruggs volunteered to enlist in the Army in 1968, debate surrounding Vietnam was escalating. Similarly, casualty totals among the VC and NVA and the number of dead and wounded civilians in North Vietnam cannot be determined exactly. 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. They werent nice. The winning designwas the work of Maya Ying Lin of Athens, Ohio, a 21-year-old senior at Yale University. The insurgency was called the National Liberation Front (PLF); however, its soldiers and operatives became more commonly known by their opponents as the Viet Cong (VC), short for Vietnamese Communists. It seemed unconscionable that heor anyone elseshould be allowed to forget. It set the tone for the ensuing cultural debates pitting the people against the elites, as found in Tom Wolfes criticism of Lins memorial design. We had been friends for a long time, Mathias said. The Best Answer To The Question Why was the vietnam war memorial so controversial? The 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. In July 1959, North Vietnams leaders passed an ordinance called for continued socialist revolution in the north and a simultaneous revolution in South Vietnam. Over 500,000 wounded, Explore articles from the HistoryNet archives about Vietnam War. North Vietnam She was regularly swept up and raced to the bomb shelter with her parents and siblings. 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. This alliance between the veterans and their conservative defenders was a new one, forged as a direct result of the cultural battle over the memorial site. [] Over the past two months, art mullahs of every description have begun a holy war against the addition of [Harts] statue.8. How did people react to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial? The battle was suddenly over.. Civilian deaths during that time period were estimated at 2 million, but the U.S. estimate of civilians killed in the north at 30,000. I remind all of you of Martin Luther King Jr., who fought for justice for all Americans. 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. The senior staffers were against it. Scruggs and Doubek began having regular meetings with John P. Wheeler, a graduate of West Point and Harvard Business School. By years end, 2,573 individuals and teams had registered almost 3,800 people in total. Because the U.S. failed to achieve a military victory and the Republic of South Vietnam was ultimately taken over by North Vietnam, the Vietnam experience became known as the only war America ever lost. It remains a very controversial topic that continues to affect political and military decisions today. An author, teacher, and lecturer, Spreiregen had written the authoritative book on design competitions. Compounding the pain was that societys ill treatment of the veterans extended to their families. 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. Watt followed on March 11, 1982, by granting permission for the construction permits. The Inspiration. By early 1982, VVMF asked Warner to bring together both sides for a closed-door session to hammer out the issues. This 21-Year-Old College Student Designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial 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. When Lin asked how many Smiths would be on The Wall, the team realized how important the chronological listing was to the design. The greatest challenge VVMF faced, said Doubek, was to put together a functioning organization with people who didnt know one another, people who were very young and didnt have a lot of experience. By June they had stalled the invasion, with the help of American airpower. Following the Tet Offensive of 1968, the NVA had to assume the major combat role because the VC was decimated during the offensive. 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. Yet, this seemingly god-given shrine wears political feet of clay, and behind it lies a fierce controversy that re-opened the wounds of the war the memorial was designed to heal. Many felt it should be composed primarily of veterans; others felt it should be made up only of professionals; some thought a mix of the two would be best. However, polls consistently showed the majority of Americans supported the war. They treated the moms the same as they treated the vets. In accordance with the strict competition guidelines, anonymity of all designs was carefully observed. The communist takeover of China and subsequent war in Korea (1950-53) against North Korean and Chinese troops had focused a great deal of attention on Southeast Asia as a place to take a strong stand against the spread of communism. Military personnel, including nurses, were warned not to wear their uniforms in the States. Maya Lin was practically a kid when her design was selected to become the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC. It would be a way to honor the veterans and to help themand the countryheal. He had been a war correspondent during World War II and had reported from Vietnam during Americas early involvement. Its mirror-like surface reflects the images of the surrounding trees, lawns and monuments. They were unwrapped, number coded, photographed for the record, and prepared for display. Could a memorial accomplish such an enormous and daunting task? To Heal a Nation, a book written by Jan Scruggs and Joel Swerdlow about the creation of the Memorial, provides a vivid sketch of the scene: I have heard your arguments, said General Price. William Jayne, who had been wounded in Vietnam, volunteered to head up public relations activities. Sturken notes, "the memorial was seen as a monument to defeat, one that spoke more directly to a nation's guilt than to the honor of the war dead and the veterans." The disagreements over the design revealed anxiety about ownership of the war's representation. Washington, D.C. Aerial view. The first American fatality was Air Force Technical Sergeant Richard B. Fitzgibbon, Jr., killed June 8, 1956. The Veterans Administration hospital system was underfunded and ill-equipped to help Vietnam veterans deal with either their physical ailments or the psychological challenges of post-traumatic stress disorder. By the time of World War II, a number of groups sought Vietnamese independence but as Vo Nguyen Giapwho would build Vietnams postWWII armyexpressed it, the communists were the best organized and most action-oriented of these groups. A s memorials are objects of public commemoration, we demand a lot of them. This development was shaped by the theories of economic neoliberals on the one hand and by the values of their socially conservative allies on the other. Lin moved to Washington and immediately became part of an internal struggle for control of the design. They felt it was a slap in the face to those who had served because it did not contain traditional symbols honoring service, courage, and sacrifice. ", 3: The Political Controversy, Scruggs . It also offered a way to exorcise lingering bitterness and anxieties that the war had propagated. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. To suggest we are on the edge of defeat is to yield to unreasonable pessimism. Vietnam, however, was divided at the 17th parallel. They responded quickly, recapturing lost ground and decimating an enemy who had finally come out to fight in the open. Communist losses were extremely heavy. 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. As a first step, VVMF retained architect Paul Spreiregen to serve as the Professional Advisor for the competition. In 2009 the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund assumed responsibility for the maintenance of the site. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. They are a treasure of design insight and included many prescient thoughts as to how the Memorial would likely be experienced, Spreiregen wrote of Clays notes. But, say those opposed, the men represent the women, the men represent all soldiers . She greeted each visitor in a regal fashion, wearing a dressing gown, perfect makeup, and beautiful shoes that curled up at the toes. I had my ear to the ground, Mathias recalled. In response to the designs submitted to these various competitions (generated by famed architects, artists, and members of the general public alike), conflicting interpretations once again revolved around notions of elitism versus populismharkening back to the language of the controversy over Lins memorial.14 In a 2002 debate with architect Daniel Libeskind on the matter, New Republic literary editor Leon Wieseltier commented, There is something a little grotesque in the interpretation of Ground Zero as a lucky break for art. All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden.12. He found that returning veterans were finding it hard to trust people. 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. In late spring 1969, American and South . Westmoreland adopted a search-and-destroy policy to find and engage the enemy and use superior firepower to destroy him. Why was Lin's Vietnam Veterans Memorial initially controversial? From the beginning, people have left tributes at its base. Dark tourism, also known as black tourism, thanatourism or grief tourism, is tourism that is associated with death or tragedy. The design Lin envisioned listed the names chronologically by date of casualty. Why was the Vietnam War Memorial so controversial? - 2023 It would have power for individual veterans, but collectively, they would have even greater power to show the enormity of the sacrifices that were made.. A different feeling prevailed among many within the U.S. government. Scruggs added: Make this place look like an airstrike was called in, he instructed. Working with the construction manager, GilbaneBuilding Company, the design team had to locate the appropriate type of granite: a flawless, reflective, deep ebony stone. . On April 27, 1979, four years after the fall of Saigon, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. (VVMF) was incorporated as a non-profit organization to establish a memorial to honor the veterans of the Vietnam War. 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. Furthermore, he explicitly framed his interpretation of the memorial in (perceived) opposition to an explicitly artistic perspective. General Price, along with Senators Warner and Mathias and future Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, gave moving addresses before the command was given, and 150 shovels entered the ground with enthusiastic veterans enjoying the moment. He was in Vietnam, serving in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade. He, in turn, called the Buddhists VC sympathizers. And her design was nearly as controversial as the war it commemorated. 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. The Vietnam Women's Memorial was established to honor the women who risked their lives to serve their country. The designs were received and processed in a large warehouse east of Washington. That same month, Kennedy himself was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Inscribed on the black granite walls are the names of more than 58,000 men and women who gave their lives or remain missing. And if they themselves didnt know how to help, they knew someone who did. Here are four facts about the provocative memorial. The controversy overshadowed the mission and what we were doing, until the Salute brought it all together. ), For three solid months, Spreiregen, Mosley, Woods, and Doubek planned the competition. Yet, to say the media cost America victory in Vietnam is vastly oversimplifying a very complex situation. For weeks, he obsessed about the idea of building a memorial. (His son, Marine Corps lance corporal Richard Fitzgibbon III would be killed in action in Vietnam September 7, 1965. The controversy over the planned 9/11 memorial at the former site of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, which began nearly a decade ago, harkened back to the debates of the early 1980s and heralds the current resurgence of cultural warfare. VVMFagreed to the statue compromise, as well as to adding a flag and to reviewing the inscription on the Memorial, but they did not want to wait untila statue was designed before breaking ground. 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. Rather, by honoring those who sacrificed, we hope to provide a symbol of national unity and reconciliation.1. Each submittal had to be hung at eye level for review by the jury. The ceasefire allowed Nixon to declare peace with honor, but no provisions existed for enforcing the terms of the accords. United States: 540,000 It's the most-visited memorial on the National Mall in Washington, attracting more than 5 million people each year - the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Adding to Americans disillusionment was the race issue. 11. The program, which had been poorly managed, was abandoned after about two years, following the coup that deposed Diem. Cupp had experienced firsthand the pains caused by the war. 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. Im the News & Social Editor at HistoryNet and a World War II researcher with an unparalleled affinity for Sir Winston Churchill, Spitfires, and Michigan football. The Vietnam Wall, as it's commonly known, stands as a tribute to the war's veterans, who consider it a tangible symbol that the American people recognized and honored for their service. They did not like its minimalist design. 9. 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. 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. That bothered him. . Intellectually and emotionally, America could embrace the idea. The design team and VVMF searched for a way for the names to be sandblasted rather than hand-carved. Kennedy saw American efforts in Southeast Asia almost as a crusade and believed increasing the military advisor program, coupled with political reform in South Vietnam, would strengthen the south and bring peace. The French suffered a major defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, leading to negotiations that ended with the Geneva Agreements, July 21, 1954. It was becoming apparent that we had been able to be instruments to something far greater than anything we had ever imagined.. . He was in Vietnam, serving in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. They struck at least 30 provincial capitals and the major cities of Saigon and Hue. On January 27, 1973, peace accords were signed between North Vietnam and the U.S. 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. It was the Senators gut feeling that we needed to do this., This was serious business, Mathias said. Karal Ann Marling and Robert Silberman, The Statue Near the Wall: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Art of Remembering, Smithsonian Studies in American Art 1, no. The In Memory plaque, dedicated in 2004, is near The Three Servicemen and honors the men and women who died as a result of their service in Vietnam. Vietnam veterans memorial controversy. Vietnam War Memorial But Lin doesn't like anybody "drawing mustaches" on her design and, with the support of many in the Art world, pressures the Commission of Fine Arts to scuttle the compromise and hatch a new one. The memorial was built to honor that spirit and the sacrifice of so many who gave everything they had to give.

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