why was the vietnam war memorial so controversial? why was the vietnam war memorial so controversial?

For example, veteran Tom Carhart famously commented: I dont care about artistic perceptions, I dont care about the rationalizations that abound. The Vietnam Wall Controversy, Round 4, 1982, History on Trial, Lehigh University Digital Library, accessed April 21, 2011, https://digital.lib.lehigh.edu/trial/vietnam/r4/1982/. The U.S., which had been gradually exerting influence after the departure of the French government, backed Diem in order to limit the area under communist control. ", 3: The Political Controversy, The U.S., possessing the largest foreign military presence, essentiallydirected the war from 1965 to 1968. 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. Two nights later, Maddox and the destroyer USS Turner Joy were on patrol in the Gulf and reported they were under attack. Bronze. By June 1977, Scruggs was attending graduate school at American University in Washington, D.C. and had embarked on a research study exploring the social and psychological consequences of Vietnam military duties. I had calculated that it was possible to see all of them in a minimum of 3 1/2 hours. On July 9, 1964, China had announced it would step in if the U.S. attacked North Vietnam, as China had done in the Korean War. They struck at least 30 provincial capitals and the major cities of Saigon and Hue. I heard that those present agreed to double their contributions after Taylor completed her remarks, Scruggs said. Ibid. 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. The Vietnam War was a divisive and politically polemic war. The effects of U.S. involvement, the impact of an individual's participation, political decisions and the politics of decision-making are still felt. Thirty years later, it is difficult to think of her memorial as a controversial work of art. 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. Afghanistan and the forever war myth | Philip Collins IAI TV Vietnam Veterans Memorial (eBook) - Julia Hargrove 2002-03-01 The Vietnam conflict was one of the most controversial engagements in the history of the United States. As Sturken notes in her essay, The Aesthetics of Absence: Rebuilding Ground Zero, the impetus to create a memorial at the site of the Twin Towers was almost instantaneousby the next day, even as the names and number of dead remained unknown, there was discussion of a memorial.13 Discussions about what to do with the site addressed two twin concerns: the redevelopment of what had been both a hub of commercial activity and an integral part of a broader residential neighborhoodlower Manhattanand the memorialization of the loss of lives that occurred at the site. Popular dark tourism attractions include Auschwitz, Chernobyl and Ground Zero. PDF Vietnam War Answer Key Pdf Full PDF - web1.willowwoodco.com The series of events began on Wednesday, November 10, 1982, and culminated with a service at the National Cathedral on Sunday, November14. Which Secretary of the Interior James Watt then threatens to scuttle! 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. . 1 (Spring 1987): 10. . It would be a way to honor the veterans and to help themand the countryheal. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 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. 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. The VC were often supplemented by units of the Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN), more often called simply the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) by those fighting against it. movements and weakening the morale of Americans fighting in Vietnam. 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. 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. 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. Spreiregen recommended having a multi-disciplinary panel: two architects, two landscape architects, two sculptors, and one generalist with extensive knowledge about art, architecture, and design. He, in turn, called the Buddhists VC sympathizers. There were so many people helping to get the legislation [passed], remembered Healy. An electrical storm was interfering with the ships radar and may have given the impression of approaching attack boats. American intelligence knew an attack was coming, though the Army had downplayed a New York Times report of large communist troop movements heading south. 3. Although differences in the two bills required a Conference Committee to meet, on July 1, at a White House Rose Garden ceremony, President Jimmy Carter signed legislation providing two acres for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall. It was very hurtful, Cupp recalled. While many veterans successfully reintegrated into their families and communities, tucking their experiences in combat away on a mental back shelf, others were unable to cope on their own. The more people you got to co-sponsor, the more people wanted to join.. And that message got through to me.. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. Some antiwar protestors blamed the men and women who served in Vietnam, taunting them and spitting on them when they came home. Buddhists, who comprised South Vietnams majority, claimed Diem, a Catholic, favored citizens of his religion in distributing aid. The administration was caught by surprise, however, when Diem was murdered during the coup, which was led by General Duong Van Minh. 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. Everyone wanted to join the effort. 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. New York Close Up artist Dan Herschlein, and professor, Chad Laird, discuss the intersection of contemporary art, film and horror. 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.. The Vietnam War: Facts & Info About the Most Controversial - HistoryNet In less than two weeks, these strategic bombers had shattered the norths defenses. For weeks, heated discussions took place around the topic of who should be part of the design jury. With the jury selected, the next task was to announce and promote the competition. 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. Video: They were the only father-son pair to die in Vietnam.) I have a Master's degree in military history from King's College, London and my cornucopia of interests include: World War II, World War II, and World War II. Everyone wanted to join the effort. He also wanted to find a way to help them heal and suggested that the country build a national memorial as a symbol that the country cared about them. 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. Early on in the effort to get the Memorial built, there were traces of controversy. By the end of the first afternoon, one of the jurors, Harry Weese, returned to our impromptu conference lounge and told me, Paul, there are two designs out there that could do it.. 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 . Vietnam veterans memorial controversy. Vietnam War Memorial This 21-Year-Old College Student Designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial 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. While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. 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. Their military experience meant they had contacts far and wide, at all levels of all professions, within government and the private sector. Similar, even larger, atrocities were conducted by VC and NVA unitssuch as an NVA attack on a Buddhist orphanage at An Hoa in September 1970 or the execution of 5,000 people at Hue during the Tet Offensivebut the concept of American soldiers killing civilians in cold blood was more than many Americans could bear. Hanoi offered to restart peace talks, yet remained intransigent in its demands. The Salute opened with a vigil Wednesday morning at the National Cathedral, where all of the nearly 58,000 names on The Wall were read by volunteers around the clock, day and night, through midnight Friday. EIN: 52-1149668, Copyright 2023 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Javascript must be enabled for the correct page display, History of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. Emphasis switched to Vietnamization, preparing South Vietnams military to take over responsibility for continuing the war. The NVA suffered some 120,000 casualties. Architectural drawings and a one-page written summary, 1980 or 1981. And if they were bitter, who could blame them? 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. Lower Manhattan must not be transformed into a vast mausoleum, obviously, but neither must it be transformed into a theme park for advanced architectural taste.15, Such rhetoric spilled over from the initial debates surrounding the redevelopment of the site of the Twin Towers to those regarding the design for the memorial. 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. and was so hurt by the controversy . Oooo, not any more, not any more. The Civil Rights Movement had produced significant victories, but many blacks had come to describe Vietnam as a white mans war, a black mans fight. Between 1961 and 1966, black males accounted for about 13 percent of the U.S. population and less than 10 percent of military personnel but almost 20 percent of all combat-related deaths. Letters came from moms, dads, grandparents, sons and daughters with heartfelt notes accompanied by checks and dollar bills. 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 Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. But if the challenges seemed insurmountable, no one expressed any fears. She greeted each visitor in a regal fashion, wearing a dressing gown, perfect makeup, and beautiful shoes that curled up at the toes. Holding a competition is like launching a rocket. 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. It was a direct result of the First Indochina War (19461954) between France, which claimed Vietnam as a colony, and the communist forces then known as Viet Minh. 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. End-to-end, the total number of submissions would have stretched one and one third linear miles. Woods remembered, I was like the kid at FAO Schwartz. 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. I remember The Washington Post had pages and pages of stories in the A section. Vietnam veterans were, at long last, receiving the recognition they deserved. Only a few, such as the St. Louis Gateway Arch, part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, had been the result of open competitions. 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.. By June they had stalled the invasion, with the help of American airpower. How did people react to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial? Also known as "America's Longest War," U.S. involvement in Vietnam War did not end until 1973. The debate over Minimalism, applied to Lins design, provided new terms through which to resurrect Americas internal debate over the validity of the Vietnam War. 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. He organized the advisors and volunteers into task groups: public relations, financial management, fund raising, legislation, site selection, and design/construction. Many who visit leave behind items in memoriam to those that have served. He made an impassioned plea for funding to his guests, members of the defense industry. It was the Senators gut feeling that we needed to do this., This was serious business, Mathias said. To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory, conclusion. Laos, South Vietnam: 850,000 No government funds would be necessary. 15. To created credibility for the fledgling effort, they formed the National Sponsoring Committee, which included then-first lady Rosalynn Carter, former President Gerald Ford, Bob Hope, future first lady Nancy Reagan, Gen. William C. Westmoreland, USA, Vietnam veteran author James Webb, and Adm. James J. Stockdale, USN. monument, Washington, District of Columbia, United States. Maya Lin worked closely with Cooper-Lecky on all aesthetic aspects of the design. Like all stereotypes, this one was unfair. Many people will not comprehend this design until they experience it. But several weeks after the announcement, a handful of people began to protest the design. Remembering Vietnam: The Story Behind 'The Wall' Never before or since have journalists been given such complete access to cover a war. Climbing Hamburger Hill 50 years after the Vietnam War's The Battle of Hamburger Hill was fought May 10-20, 1969, during the Vietnam War (1955-1975). Memory Foundations (planned design for former site of World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, New York). The pilot of an F-8E Crusader did not see any ships in the area where the enemy was reported, and years later crew members said they never saw attacking craft. But the veterans had real problems. 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. Additionally, the emergence of Park51the proposed Muslim community and cultural center to be located a few blocks from the former World Trade Center siteas a major point of public interest and debate, which peaked during the 2010 congressional elections, confirms the continued political potency and cultural power of memorials as embodiments of representational practice. Civilian loss of life was also very heavy, with the lowest estimates around 415,000. 4. Maya Lin was practically a kid when her design was selected to become the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC. 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. Casualties for the Republic of South Vietnam will never be adequately resolved. 16. The 15,000 in uniforms and civvies, walked among floats, bands and baton twirlers. These mass-media fictions enabled the very real neglect of veterans by the institutions tasked with tending to their needs. Corruption and instability in South Vietnams government did not instill confidence in its people, or in the Americans working with it. Cambodia 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). It seemed every time they contacted someone, they were greeted with enthusiasm for the idea. To its own surprise, Hanoi found its forces advancing rapidly toward Saigon, realized victory was at hand, and renamed the operation the Ho Chi Minh Offensive. When the time came, however, Diem resisted the elections; the more populous north would certainly win. 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. Sturken, 125. The list of tasks to achieve such a goal seemed endless. With permit in hand, Doubek instructedto commence construction immediately. And if they themselves didnt know how to help, they knew someone who did. Before the 1880s, the French controlled Vietnam. 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. Confused times need simple forms., According to the description of the design concept: The jury chose a design which will stimulate thought rather than contain it.. It echoed the theme that regardless of how anyone felt about the war itself, everyone cared about honoring the men and women who had served and those who had ultimately lost their lives. Scruggs . Paul Haagas spouse, Heather Sturt Haaga, soon came forward to lend her experience in fund raising. 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. 3 (August 2004): 122. Nonsense. At that time, they just ignored you and wished you would go away. They set their sights in support of the clear, simple vision Scruggs outlined:to honor the warrior and not the war. On April 30, their tanks entered Saigon. If all of the names could be in one place, these names would have great powera power to heal. That changed in August 1964. Soldiers wounded, another 72 . The flag-waving crowds even cheered., Over the four days there were also workshops, parties, events, and reunions. Frustrated, Nixon ordered the big bombersB-52sto strike Hanoi, beginning December 16 (Operation LINEBACKER). In 1973 a third Vietnam war begana continuation, actuallybetween North and South Vietnam but without significant U.S. involvement. The senior staffers were against it. Ibid. Significant funding cuts to programs that had been instigated in the 1960s under Lyndon Johnsons Great Society domestic agenda followed, in addition to a major attack on union power. History of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Although thousands of people were there, It was so very quiet, Wheeler recalled. Cupp had experienced firsthand the pains caused by the war. 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. Maya Lin, has gone on to become a respected architect and artist, with a studio in New York City. 8. Perhaps thats an appropriate design for those who would spit on us still. Military personnel, including nurses, were warned not to wear their uniforms in the States. Lin became a design consultant to the architect of record. It was a whirlwind of events, and the press coverage was unbelievable. For weeks, he obsessed about the idea of building a memorial. Most, like the Lincoln Memorial, were competitions between select designers. Vietnam Veterans Memorial: Location, History & FAQs What is dark tourism and why is it so popular? Ultimately, one of the greatest challenges was how to get that many names on the wall panels in such a short period of time. On November 11, 1984, the servicemen statue and a U.S. flag were formally added to the memorial, and the combined monument was placed under the control of the National Park Service. It was one of the most resounding defeats in all of military historyuntil it became a victory. 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. They would include a big National Salute to Vietnam Veterans at Veterans Day. Jan C. Scruggs, a wounded Vietnam War vet, studied what is now called post-traumatic stress disorder upon his return to. Most at the meeting told him they didnt want a memorial; they wanted more benefits and government support. On November 8, 1979, VVMF held a press conference in which Mathias, Warner, and several others announced the introduction of legislation to grant two acres of land near the Lincoln Memorial for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Following the Tet Offensive of 1968, the NVA had to assume the major combat role because the VC was decimated during the offensive. On Saturday, a grand parade took place where veterans marched joyously out of sync, some hand-in-hand or with their arms draped around one another, holding banners, flags, and signs. Overview Military conscription, commonly known as "the draft," is one of the most complex topics related to the Vietnam War. Why the Battle for Hamburger Hill Was So Controversial. 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. 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. Vietnam Veterans Memorial | Encyclopedia.com In the end, the quarry in India was selected. Perhaps Lins centralitytwenty years after the construction of the Vietnam Veterans Memorialto the debate over Arads and Walkers design was inevitable, given her presence on the design competitions selection committee as well as her legacy as the definitive memorial builder of the late twentieth century. 5/1981 - 3/1982. PDF A New World - US History Options The "Black Gash of Shame"Revisiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. 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. This lends a sense of personal intimacy in a public space which helps create a sense of connection to the memorial. They came from all parts of the country and represented every state. However, that posed a problem of how tolocate an individual name. American Artist discusses science fiction in the context of contemporary art and the concept of Colored Time.. Vietnam Veterans Memorial | Facts, Designer, & Controversy Ronald Reagans election in November 1980 ushered in the Reagan Revolution, and the first few years of Reagans presidency saw the largest tax cuts in American history.