why was the vietnam war memorial so controversial?

8. Direct mail was proving to be a highly effective fundraising tool. Its detractors perceived it as a monument to defeat, one that spoke more directly to a nations guilt than to the honor of the war dead and the veterans, describing it as the black gash of shame, the degrading ditch, and a wailing wall for draft dodgers and New Lefters of the future.4 Responding to its lack of narrative content, Senator James Webb called it nihilistic. Interestingly (given their opposing political positions), both the National Review and the New Republic equated the list of names with a police report on a traffic accident. At the time, well-managed open design competitions were common in Europe, but not in the United States. (Woods continues to serve on VVMFs Board of Directors to this day. Population in the south was mostly clustered in a few areas along the coast; the north always enjoyed a larger population. An ad hoc group of veterans had scheduled a meeting to try to use Vietnam Veterans Week to generate publicity for veterans need, and Scruggs thought that would be a good time to announce his plans. Why were people angry about the Vietnam War memorial? Today, The Wall continues to be the most-visited memorial on the National Mall, attracting more than five million people each year. The 15,000 in uniforms and civvies, walked among floats, bands and baton twirlers. 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. 9. And if they were bitter, who could blame them? End-to-end, the total number of submissions would have stretched one and one third linear miles. Nonsense. The truth was, veterans were no more likely to be addicted to drugs than those who did not serve. Video: But instead of enthusiasm, he received skepticism. A few of the most vocal opponents, including James Webb and H. Ross Perot, had previously been strong supporters of a memorial. Revisiting the terms of this conflict not only provides insight into how and why visual art came to be so politicized in the 1980s, but also sheds light on the debates of our present historical moment, which, in many ways, parallel the debates of that period regarding the social purpose of art. They needed to secure a plot of land, raise funds and public awareness, design the Memorial, coordinate construction, and organize the dedication ceremonies. Wheeler recruited others to help, starting with a group of professional men, all Vietnam or Vietnam-era veterans: George Sandy Mayo, Arthur Mosley, John Morrison, Paul Haaga, Bill Marr, John Woods and certified public accountant Bob Frank, who agreed to become VVMFs treasurer. She is still remembered fondly by veterans for the moving Memorial she designed for them. Like all stereotypes, this one was unfair. 4 (Summer 1996): 685. It was designed by American architect Maya Lin. PDF A New World - US History Options Oooo, not any more, not any more. With the jury selected, the next task was to announce and promote the competition. They set their sights in support of the clear, simple vision Scruggs outlined:to honor the warrior and not the war. A s memorials are objects of public commemoration, we demand a lot of them. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. Vietnam Veterans Memorial, also called The Wall, national monument in Washington, D.C., honouring members of the U.S. armed forces who served and died in the Vietnam War (1955-75). 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. Working with the construction manager, GilbaneBuilding Company, the design team had to locate the appropriate type of granite: a flawless, reflective, deep ebony stone. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). 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. Many people will not comprehend this design until they experience it. They were also the most collegial people, who would deliberate intensely but never argue or posture, Spreiregen remembered. Inscribed on the black granite walls are the names of more than 58,000 men and women who gave their lives or remain missing. The construction process hits a snag when relentless and powerful critics, led by Tom Carhart, find an unsavory political message in the supposedly apolitical winning design -- ultimately forcing a compromise, the addition of a flag and a statue with three soldiers to the Wall. Its mere existence would be societal recognition that their sacrifices were honorable rather than dishonorable. Black walls, the universal color of shame and sorrow and degradation.. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. When they returned home from serving their country, there was no national show of gratitude. In large part, this was accomplished through a series of conflicts waged at the level of culture. Each contestant sealed his or her name in an envelope and taped it to the back of the submission. In an article in the Washington Post, writer Tom Wolfe defined the debate over the inclusion of Harts figurative memorial as a story of art experts and the Vietnam veteransand of how the veterans asked for a war memorial and wound up with an enormous pit they now refer to as a tribute to Jane Fonda. Following a march by thousands of veterans through the streets of Washington, D.C., to the National Mall site, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on November 13, 1982. And her design was nearly as controversial as the war it commemorated. In an interview he was asked if there was light at the end of the tunnel, and he responded that the U.S. and its allies had turned a corner 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. Why Were Vietnam War Vets Treated Poorly When They . Daniel Abramson, Maya Lin and the 1960s: Monuments, Time Lines, and Minimalism, Critical Inquiry 22, no. However, polls consistently showed the majority of Americans supported the war. They did not like the idea that it was below ground level. The VC was effectively finished; it would not field more than 25,00040,000 troops at any time for the remainder of the war. Peter Walker and Michael Arad. Were all the result of our upbringing. Over several tense weeks, more debate followed, until the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) and the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) gave their approval for a statue and flag in concept, pending suitable placement of those elements. Dana Joy Helwick explains how, and why, she uses contemporary artists as role models in her classroom. The Three Soldiers - Wikipedia PDF Why was the Vietnam War so Controversial? - University of Wisconsin We had been friends for a long time, Mathias said. 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. American drawdown continued, with only 43,000 personnel left in-country by mid-August. 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. He closed by saying: To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe, in the face of the evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past. Soldiers wounded, another 72 . A chronological listing would also allow a returning veteran to find his or her time of service on The Wall and those who died together to remain together forever on The Wall. The memorial consists of three parts: the Three Servicemen Statue, the Vietnam Women's Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. The first phase encompassed the detail planning and preparations for holding the competition, said Spreiregen. By June they had stalled the invasion, with the help of American airpower. When the winning Vietnam Veterans Memorial design was dedicated on November 13, 1982, a storm of controversy followed. One example, cited in Grab Their Belts to Fight Them: The Viet Congs Big-Unit War Against the U.S., 19651966, by Warren Wilkins, is a description of the first major battle between the VC and American ForcesU.S. With such an overwhelming response to the competition, logistics became an issue. Why reinforce the bourgeoisies pathetic illusions? The photo was published worldwide under the title The Ultimate Protest, raising (or in some cases reinforcing) doubts about the government that the democratic United States was supporting. Daniel Libeskind. It was one of the most resounding defeats in all of military historyuntil it became a victory. 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. 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. It was a direct result of the First Indochina War (1946-1954) between France, which claimed Vietnam as a colony, and the communist forces then known as Viet Minh. 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. No American air strikes came to aid the overstretched South Vietnamese, despite Nixons earlier assurances to Thieu. In a February 27, 1968, broadcast he summed up what he had found during his return trip to the war zone. The Vietnam War Starts In 1954, following the defeat of the French colonialists at the hands of the Viet Minh at Dien Bien Phu, the last battle of the First Indochina War, the country of. . The South Vietnamese Army was showing improvement, winning 37 of their last 45 major engagements. About Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The Vietnam War: Facts & Info About the Most Controversial - HistoryNet Emphasis switched to Vietnamization, preparing South Vietnams military to take over responsibility for continuing the war. 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. To achieve this effect she chose polished black granite for the walls. 11. Because he possessed great knowledge of history, he understood the extensive healing process required after war. Scruggs added: Make this place look like an airstrike was called in, he instructed. 170,000220,000 military We expect them to do the work of history writing, to draw single comprehensible narratives out of a Gorgon's nest of individual, often contradictory, experiences. Marinesnear Van Truong, from the VC point of view. The military dog tags, flowers, war medals, photographs, and even favorite toys left behind aid the healing process. To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory, conclusion. 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. North Vietnam In July 1959, North Vietnams leaders passed an ordinance called for continued socialist revolution in the north and a simultaneous revolution in South Vietnam. The families of service members who were missing in action originally wanted their names listed separately. After meeting with the VVMF officers and advisors, Warner volunteered to help the organization raise the seed money needed to launch the fund raising campaign. My background was relatively modest, he said. For example, veteran Tom Carhart famously commented: I dont care about artistic perceptions, I dont care about the rationalizations that abound. They were real guys. Bronze. For this reason, in Vietnam today it is known as the American War. Their initial timeline was aggressive, with an ultimate goal of dedicating the Memorial on Veterans Day 1982just a little more than 36 months away. Together, we can make sure our heroes will get the reverence they deserve and the stories and sacrifices of our heroes will never be forgotten. 1 (Spring 1987): 10. By years end, 23,000 American military personnel would be in South Vietnam. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built without government funds. 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. The hope is that the creation of the Memorial will begin a healing process, Doubek wrote. Just before Christmas 1979, Warner hosted a fundraising breakfast in his Georgetown home. 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. 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. During the Second World War, Vichy France could do little to protect its colony from Japanese occupation. The wall is the centerpiece of the memorial and is made up of two black granite walls, each 246 feet in length and 10 feet in height. Black walls, the universal color of shame and sorrow and degradation. In addition to the accounts of its creation, sev- 4: The Artistic Controversy, 3/1982-11/1985 >>>>> 1988. 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. The list of tasks to achieve such a goal seemed endless. Doubek approached Scruggs after the meeting and suggested that he form a nonprofit corporation as a vehicle to build a memorial. Jan came to our headquarters to see if we had any room to help them get started, Cupp remembered. But how and where could all of the submissions be displayed? 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. Most at the meeting told him they didnt want a memorial; they wanted more benefits and government support. With permit in hand, Doubek instructedto commence construction immediately. Others questioned the intent of the Memorial. Despite the stated wishes of the VVMF, Lins design proved instantaneously divisive. Some opponents simply did not like the fact that Lin was a young student, a woman, and of Asian descent; how in the world could she possibly know how to honor the service of the Vietnam veteran? 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. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. This message of personal responsibility, in contrast to governance by an elite group on behalf of individuals, became a hallmark of the Reagan administration. They stressed that all funds for the Memorial would be raised from private donations. Names of all who died in the war or . Traumatic memoriessuch as those of police officers brutally beating anti-war protesters at the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago and members of the National Guard opening fire on students protesting the war at Kent State University in Ohiowere removed, like a tumor, from the body of the nation and assigned to another geographical location: Vietnam. It was a whirlwind of events, and the press coverage was unbelievable. As soon as ground was broken for The Wall in March 1982, planning for its dedication ceremonies began. Both Scruggss and the VVMFs statements clearly conveyed that the memorial the veterans sought was to be an apolitical tabula rasa that would neither contribute to nor comment upon the unresolved controversies surrounding the war. [3] It was the first representation of an African American on the National Mall. The administration was caught by surprise, however, when Diem was murdered during the coup, which was led by General Duong Van Minh. While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. Veterans needed this, and so did the nation. The Memorial had several purposes, he explained. 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 am tired of hearing it called such by you. The flag-waving crowds even cheered., Over the four days there were also workshops, parties, events, and reunions. Scruggs and Doubek began having regular meetings with John P. Wheeler, a graduate of West Point and Harvard Business School. After working alone for six months, Doubek was joined on the staff by Kathy Kielich, who served as the Office Manager throughout the project. After Lins monument was dedicated on November 13, 1982, however, it became a popular and moving tourist attraction. . The domino fell but did not take down any of those around it. Early on in the effort to get the Memorial built, there were traces of controversy. By early 1982, VVMF asked Warner to bring together both sides for a closed-door session to hammer out the issues. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 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. More than 150,000 veterans, families, loved ones and friends made plans to attend. The peasants resented being forced from their ancestral lands, and consolidating them gave the VC better targets. 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 surreal.. Cupp had experienced firsthand the pains caused by the war. Top Essentials to Know About the Vietnam War - ThoughtCo The original design proposal called for all of the names to be individually hand-chiseled in the stone, but it was soon realized the time and money it would take to do that were impractical. There is considerable debate over whether he was primarily nationalist or communist, but he was not especially anti-Western. With the seed money from several defense industry donors, especially Grumman Aerospace, VVMF launched its first large-scale direct mail campaign to reach out to the public. Warner, who had served as Secretary of the Navy during the war, was himself a veteran of World War II and the Korean War. The wars length and the growing number of casualties were fueling tensions. American troops had won every major battle they fought, and General Nguyen Van Thieu had come to power in South Vietnam in September; he would remain in office until 1975, bringing a new measure of stability to the government, though he could not end its endemic corruption. 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. Tour Washington D.C.'s Arlington National Cemetery, Tomb of the Unknowns, and Vietnam Veterans Memorial, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Vietnam-Veterans-Memorial, How Stuff Works - History - Vietnam Veterans Memorial, National Park Service - Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The walls are inscribed with the names of more than 58,000 men and women . It seemed unfair and inappropriate that there should be no recognition.. Ibid. It ended with communist victory in April 1975. 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. The senior staffers were against it. 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. Descriptions of the desired qualities for the memorial design included harmonious, contemplative and reflective, and again, conciliatory.2 The booklet concluded with the following passage: Finally, we wish to repeat that the memorial is not to be a political statement, and that its purpose is to honor the service and memory of the wars dead, its missing, and its veteransnot the war itself. The Vietnam War is the commonly used name for the Second Indochina War, 19541975. Architectural drawings and a one-page written summary, 1980 or 1981. Reflecting Absence (planned design for memorial to victims of attacks on the World Trade Center, September 11, 2001). The Vietnam Women's Memorial was established to honor the women who risked their lives to serve their country. The more people you got to co-sponsor, the more people wanted to join.. 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. Their military experience meant they had contacts far and wide, at all levels of all professions, within government and the private sector. 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. It would help veterans heal. As noted above, a number of sources warned U.S. leaders against becoming embroiled in Southeast Asia. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. 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. From the beginning, people have left tributes at its base. ARVN divisions in the north were surrounded and routed. Others: 80,000 plus, 200,000400,000 civilians Veterans frequently found themselves denying their time in Vietnam, never mentioning their service to new friends and acquaintances for fear of the reactions it might elicit. Vietnam, however, was divided at the 17th parallel. In accordance with the strict competition guidelines, anonymity of all designs was carefully observed. Initially, however, homefront support for the war effort grew, but by March Americans, perceiving no change in strategy that would bring the war to a conclusion, became increasingly disillusioned. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial: from Controversy to Healing The entire text size and layout Lin saw as an open book. 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. Remembering Vietnam: The Story Behind 'The Wall' 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. Maya Lin, has gone on to become a respected architect and artist, with a studio in New York City. Two nights later, Maddox and the destroyer USS Turner Joy were on patrol in the Gulf and reported they were under attack. movements and weakening the morale of Americans fighting in Vietnam. They were feeling alienated from the nations leaders, and they had low self-esteem. 16. In November 2003, the LMDC placed the proposals of the eight finalists on display for public review.16 According to Sturken and art historian Anne Swartz, criticism of the designs, including that of the eventual winner, Peter Walkers and Michael Arads Reflecting Absence, revolved in large part around their perceived minimalist aesthetic, once again drawing on the rhetoric involved in the Tilted Arc debate. In July 1959 Major Dale Buis and Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand were off duty when they were killed during an attack at Bien Hoa. Early in his efforts Scruggs had called on Emogene Cupp, then the national president of the American Gold Star Mothers. Jan Scruggss and VVMF members desire for a memorial that would heal the social rifts wrought by the war was wishful thinking. Such images pack tremendous emotional punch but often lack context. Maya Lins original competition submission for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Sturken, 125. And if they themselves didnt know how to help, they knew someone who did. History of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Heralding the end of one era and the commencement of a new one, Reagan famously proclaimed, Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem, further adding that: From time to time, we have been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Rather, by honoring those who sacrificed, we hope to provide a symbol of national unity and reconciliation.1. Originally, Vietnam ended at the 17th parallel, but it gradually conquered all the area southward along the coastline of the South China Sea and west to Cambodia. Thus, it is unsurprising that the first skirmish of the culture wars of the 1980s can be traced back to the public debate that broke out in reaction to Maya Lins design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Sturken, 321. Timing is everything, and enough time had passed. 10. I had calculated that it was possible to see all of them in a minimum of 3 1/2 hours. The proposed Vietnam memorial was a . For weeks, he obsessed about the idea of building a memorial. American helicopters rescued members of its embassy and flew some South Vietnamese to safety, but most were left behind. 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. Dark tourism, also known as black tourism, thanatourism or grief tourism, is tourism that is associated with death or tragedy. Mao Zedongs Communist Party had won the Chinese Civil War in 1949, and western governmentsparticularly that of the U.Sfeared communist expansion throughout Southeast Asia. Mathias and Warner continually stressed that their objective was to provide the country with a symbol for reconciliation. On that January day, There was a big explosion, Scruggs recalled. 17. In 1973 a "third" Vietnam war begana continuation, actuallybetween North and South Vietnam but without significant U.S. involvement. 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. 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. That bothered him. In previous war, progress and setbacks could be shown on maps; large enemy units could be engaged and destroyed. Congress swiftly passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that removed most restrictions from the president in regards to Vietnam. It was becoming apparent that we had been able to be instruments to something far greater than anything we had ever imagined.. It ended with communist victory in April 1975. Could it heal the chasm within society, promote closure, show gratitude to those who served, comfort those in grief, and remind future generations of the toll wrought by war? Corrections? Vietnam Veterans Memorial - U.S. Department of Defense 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.

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