why was the vietnam war memorial so controversial?

HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. Everything has to be thought out and in place before the launch button is pressed.. In accordance with the strict competition guidelines, anonymity of all designs was carefully observed. 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 walls are inscribed with the names of more than 58,000 men and women . Ultimately, the Commission of Fine Arts, which had the final say in the matter, overruled Lins objections. 15. Marinesnear Van Truong, from the VC point of view. 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. For example, veteran Tom Carhart famously commented: I dont care about artistic perceptions, I dont care about the rationalizations that abound. Then, on March 30, 1972, the North Vietnamese attacked across the 17th parallel with 14 divisions and additional individual regiments. That would have made any negotiation with Ho politically ticklish. Could a memorial accomplish such an enormous and daunting task? The earliest of these battles was the controversy over Lins design. All of these items are stored in a museum-quality facility in Landover, Maryland. 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. To bring the design into reality would require an architect of record. Two younger monks poured a mix of gasoline and jet fuel over him and, as the three had planned, set fire to him. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. The timing and scale of the offensive caught ARVN, the U.S. and other SEATO troops by surprise, however. When Lin asked how many Smiths would be on The Wall, the team realized how important the chronological listing was to the design. The solution on how to locate a name evolved into a directory of names with an alphabetical listing andthe panel and line number of each name. Their initial timeline was aggressive, with an ultimate goal of dedicating the Memorial on Veterans Day 1982just a little more than 36 months away. In the nine months since he'd been in-country, Scruggs had already seen a lot of action and had been wounded in a battle near Xuan Loc. An electrical storm was interfering with the ships radar and may have given the impression of approaching attack boats. Many veterans, politicians, critics, and the general public read its refusal to explicitly glorify the war or frame the listed soldiers sacrifice in recognizably heroic terms as an ideological statement, proof of Linsand the memorialspurported anti-war position. 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. And if they themselves didnt know how to help, they knew someone who did. They werent nice. 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 public wanted to have a hand in helping to build the Memorial and in honoring the warrior, not the war. Undoubtedly, news media played an important role in Americans saying, Enough. Indeed, Vo Nyugen Giap had always envisioned using media as one of his spear points for victory. 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. 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. Sturken, 322; Anne Swartz, American Art After September 11: A Consideration of the Twin Towers, Symploke 14, nos. Far from being a fait accompli, amassing the public will to support this new agenda took real work. The memorial was built to honor that spirit and the sacrifice of so many who gave everything they had to give. That bothered him. It was the Senators gut feeling that we needed to do this., This was serious business, Mathias said. 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. Like all stereotypes, this one was unfair. The 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). 1 (Spring 1987): 10. The war was extremely divisive in the U.S., Europe, Australia, and elsewhere. Why reinforce the bourgeoisies pathetic illusions? The battle was suddenly over.. She was regularly swept up and raced to the bomb shelter with her parents and siblings. The peasants resented being forced from their ancestral lands, and consolidating them gave the VC better targets. It seemed unconscionable that heor anyone elseshould be allowed to forget. Jack was the visionary, the creative, big-picture guy. 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. The Three Soldiers (also known as The Three Servicemen) is a bronze statue by Frederick Hart. The National Park Service archives most of the nonperishable items left at The Wall. The purpose of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was to honor all who had served, with a special tribute their names engraved for those who did not return. Mathias set up a meeting so he could learn more. It just resonated, he explained. The Tet Offensive shocked Americans at home, who thought the war was nearing victory. Guerrilla warfare (asymmetrical warfare) does not permit such clear-cut data. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. I was dumbfounded that we had succeeded at doing this. The controversial Vietnam War was long and drawn out, fought in a humid terrain alien to American soldiers. VVMF met the prospective jurors and scrutinized their credentials. After 25 years, the way in which visitors have embraced and cherished this work has been a great gift to me, she wrote in the program for the 25th anniversary ceremony. It was also a hard-earned victory, leaving more than 300 U.S. In 2009 the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund assumed responsibility for the maintenance of the site. 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. But can America truly mean that we should feel honored by that black pit?6. For the first time, MACV worked with South Vietnams government to create annual plans. They needed to secure a plot of land, raise funds and public awareness, design the Memorial, coordinate construction, and organize the dedication ceremonies. Color meant nothing on the battlefields of Korea and Vietnam. They were also keenly aware that the legislation made the Memorials design subject to the approval of the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), and the Secretary of the Interior. North Vietnam spent two years rebuilding its military; South Vietnam was hamstrung in its responses by a fear the U.S. Congress would cut off all aid if it took military action against communist buildup. Waiting meant they would never reach their dedication deadline of November 11, 1982. Ibid. They were the only father-son pair to die in Vietnam.) 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. Lacking sufficient services to assist their recovery, some of these unassimilated veterans turned to alcohol and other drugs, their addictions only sending them further to the margins of society. Mathias and Warner continued to rally support and ferry the legislation. 1. New York Close Up artist Dan Herschlein, and professor, Chad Laird, discuss the intersection of contemporary art, film and horror. Better armed than ever before, thanks to increased aid from the Soviet Union, they employed tanks for the first time. It ended with communist victory in April 1975. Moreover, could it accomplish all of that while listing the approximately 58,000 names in an artistic, meaningful way? Their military experience meant they had contacts far and wide, at all levels of all professions, within government and the private sector. But the slogan has proved remarkably effective and points to a deep truth: forever is a very short time in democratic politics, writes Philip Collins. Buddhists, who comprised South Vietnams majority, claimed Diem, a Catholic, favored citizens of his religion in distributing aid. Why were people angry about the Vietnam War memorial? It is a V-shaped polished black granite wall that runs 246 feet long. Adding to Americans disillusionment was the race issue. 4: The Artistic Controversy, 3/1982-11/1985 >>>>> 1988. As Scruggs had always envisioned, the Memorial would feature all of the names of those who had died. 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. The flag-waving crowds even cheered., Over the four days there were also workshops, parties, events, and reunions. The vision of VVMF is to ensure a society in which all who have served and sacrificed in our nation's Armed Forces are properly honored and receive the recognition they justly deserve. Vietnam veteran Joseph Zengerle, then an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, volunteered the use of an aircraft hangar at Andrews Air Force Base. 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. 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. Black is not a color of shame. Seven more such immolations occurred that year. The Vietnam Women's Memorial was established to honor the women who risked their lives to serve their country. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. 12. On March 5, 1975, the NVA invaded again. They really worked well together and were the driving force. Or, people would tell me, Well why did you let him go? Of course, what choice do you have?. Veterans needed this, and so did the nation. American drawdown continued, with only 43,000 personnel left in-country by mid-August. Names of all who died in the war or . At 21 and still an undergraduate, Linconceived her design as creating a park within a park a quiet protected place unto itself, yet harmonious with the overall plan of Constitution Gardens. On January 21, 1970, Jan Scruggs was having his morning cup of coffee, but he was far from his kitchen table at home. One needs no artistic education to see this design for what it is, a black trench that scars the Mall. They struck at least 30 provincial capitals and the major cities of Saigon and Hue. About Vietnam Veterans Memorial. North Vietnam, had by then established a presence in Laos and developed the Ho Chi Minh Trail through that country in order to resupply and reinforce its forces in South Vietnam. What they did need, however, was an acceptable location for the Memorial and enough support to push the idea through various governmental committees and agencies. Following the Tet Offensive of 1968, the NVA had to assume the major combat role because the VC was decimated during the offensive. A lingering question of the war is what might have happened if Eisenhower and Ho had arranged a meeting; possibly, an accord could have been reached, or possibly Ho was simply seeking to limit American involvement, in order to more easily depose the Diem government. 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. Reflecting Absence (planned design for memorial to victims of attacks on the World Trade Center, September 11, 2001). Millionaire H. Ross Perot made a sizeable donation. 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. 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. 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. 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. The photo of the South Vietnamese police chief, for example, cannot by itself explain he had just seen the dead body of a close friend minutes before; even Eddie Adams, the photojournalist who snapped the photo felt it unfairly maligned Lt. Col. Loan. 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. In 1993 the Vietnam Womens Memorial was unveiled a short distance from the wall. 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. But if the challenges seemed insurmountable, no one expressed any fears. On June 11, 1963, an elderly Buddhist monk named Thich Quang Duc sat down in the street in front of a pagoda in Saigon to protest Diems policies. 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. Scruggs and Doubek met with Mathias to outline their plans. By years end, 23,000 American military personnel would be in South Vietnam. Ibid. (His son, Marine Corps lance corporal Richard Fitzgibbon III would be killed in action in Vietnam September 7, 1965. In the Rose Garden of the White House, immediately following President Jimmy Carters signing of the bill, Scruggs explained to the press the vision of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF), the non-profit organization that collected and administered the funds for the memorial. 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. And her design was nearly as controversial as the war it commemorated. Healing meant many things to many people. 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. By early 1980, contributions started to arrive. 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. Because Warner was from Virginia and Mathias from Maryland, the two had worked together on many regional issues. She greeted each visitor in a regal fashion, wearing a dressing gown, perfect makeup, and beautiful shoes that curled up at the toes. 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 (195575). On January 21, 1970, Jan Scruggs was having his morning cup of coffee, but he was far from his kitchen table at home. Why the Battle for Hamburger Hill Was So Controversial. As Scruggs analyzed the concept of collective psychological states, he realized that, just as veterans needed psychological healing, so too did the nation. The act of dark tourism is somewhat controversial, with some viewing it as an act of respect and others as unethical practice. This grew into the operation known as Rolling Thunder that began on March 2, 1965, and continued to November 2, 1968. 4 (Summer 1996): 685. They serve as testaments to lives lost, as repositories of grief, and to facilitate processes of mourning. Scruggs . 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. In large part, this was accomplished through a series of conflicts waged at the level of culture. 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. In late spring 1969, American and South . Ibid. American intelligence knew an attack was coming, though the Army had downplayed a New York Times report of large communist troop movements heading south. Despite the fact that beyond certain superficial qualities, Lins memorial shared little in common with the work of classic Minimalist artists such as Richard Serra or Donald Judd, critics nonetheless conflated it with Serras equally controversial Tilted Arc, labeling it another example of an inscrutable Minimalist public artwork erected at taxpayers expense. In addition to the accounts of its creation, sev- Yet, to say the media cost America victory in Vietnam is vastly oversimplifying a very complex situation. It was one of the most resounding defeats in all of military historyuntil it became a victory. Many pushed friends in wheelchairs. When Scruggs went to see the movie in early 1979, it wasnt the graphic war scenes that haunted him. Hidden in a hole in the ground, with no means of access for those Vietnam veterans who are condemned to spend the rest of their days in a wheelchair. Private Funding No government funds were used to build the memorial, only public land. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund | 3033 Wilson Blvd, Suite 300 | Arlington VA 22201 | 202.393.0090 Also known as "America's Longest War," U.S. involvement in Vietnam War did not end until 1973. And that message got through to me.. This began a series of destabilizing changes in government leadership. Its mere existence would be societal recognition that their sacrifices were honorable rather than dishonorable. During the Second World War, Vichy France could do little to protect its colony from Japanese occupation. As conservatives sought to consolidate their gains following Reagans election, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial controversy presented an opportunity for conservatives to harness both the affective power of the veterans fury and the resulting public outcry on their behalf. 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. 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. Bronze. On September 30, 1964, the first large-scale antiwar demonstration took place in America, on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley. Ho Chi Minh had been educated in Paris. (An American medic treated him during World War II, probably saving his life.) They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. These meanings serve as unifying forces, reinforcing the idea of a shared national identity and healing rifts in the communal experience of nationhood.

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