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As Scruggs had always envisioned, the Memorial would feature all of the names of those who had died. Every major engagement between U.S. forces and VC or NVA was an American victory, and the casualty (body count) ratio always showed significantly larger casualties for the communist forces than for the Americans. The Making of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial - JSTOR Daily Or, people would tell me, Well why did you let him go? Of course, what choice do you have?. Before he spoke, however, all eyes had turned toward the kitchen door, from which has emerged his then-wife, actress Elizabeth Taylor. United States: 540,000 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. 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/. End-to-end, the total number of submissions would have stretched one and one third linear miles. By June they had stalled the invasion, with the help of American airpower. Veterans needed this, and so did the nation. China conquered the northern part of modern Vietnam in 111 BC and retained control until 938 AD; it continued to exert some control over the Vietnamese until 1885. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The war was extremely divisive in the U.S., Europe, Australia, and elsewhere. This fear evolved into the Domino Theory; if one country fell to communist control, its neighbors would also soon fall like a row of dominos. Such images pack tremendous emotional punch but often lack context. Memory Foundations (planned design for former site of World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, New York). Movies were dealing more realistically with their issues. . The Vietnam Women's Memorial was established to honor the women who risked their lives to serve their country. The Three Soldiers (also known as The Three Servicemen) is a bronze statue by Frederick Hart. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. To suggest we are on the edge of defeat is to yield to unreasonable pessimism. A different feeling prevailed among many within the U.S. government. Ho Chi Minh led a communist government in the north (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) with its capital at Hanoi, and a new Republic of South Vietnam was established under President Ngo Dinh Diem, with its capital at Saigon. In 1972 a poll determined he was the most trusted man in America.. The French suffered a major defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, leading to negotiations that ended with the Geneva Agreements, July 21, 1954. 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. Because of this, Mathias appointed her to manage the details and to work with Scruggs, Doubek, and Wheeler on the legislation for the memorial. The added component of military security made the location even more attractive, since it would ensure no interference with the designs or the judging. I am always incredibly moved and heartened, especially when a veteran tells me that The Wall has helped them in some wayit could not mean more to me. As a senior at Yale University, Lin entered a nationwide competition sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, and her design was selected from the more than 1,400 submissions that were received. This 21-Year-Old College Student Designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial I just kept thinking to myself how quiet it was, and yet there was an immense feeling of community. To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory, conclusion. President Johnson, watching the broadcast, said, If weve lost Walter Cronkite, weve lost the country. In May, Johnson announced he would not run for reelection. Vietnam Veterans Memorial: Location, History & FAQs American involvement began to escalate under President John F. Kennedys administration (January 1961November 1963). 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. The Memorial had several purposes, he explained. Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Wikipedia 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/. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. For the first time, MACV worked with South Vietnams government to create annual plans. 1. Two younger monks poured a mix of gasoline and jet fuel over him and, as the three had planned, set fire to him. 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. By years end, 23,000 American military personnel would be in South 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. Everyone wanted to join the effort. It seemed every time they contacted someone, they were greeted with enthusiasm for the idea. I heard that those present agreed to double their contributions after Taylor completed her remarks, Scruggs said. 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 ended with communist victory in April 1975. As they forged a partnership with Mathias and his staff, VVMF also set out to establish other key relationships. 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. Millionaire H. Ross Perot made a sizeable donation. When I was attending law school, Vietnam veterans were an anomaly among the young single professional set of Washington, so it was something you didnt mention. remembered Doubek. The proposed Vietnam memorial was a . Like all stereotypes, this one was unfair. Bob was the detail person and a good writer. The first phase encompassed the detail planning and preparations for holding the competition, said Spreiregen. And if they themselves didnt know how to help, they knew someone who did. That same month, Kennedy himself was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Among other duties, Healy was the member of Mathias staff who handled memorials and worked as the liaison with the U.S. Department of the Interior. 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. They were either ignored or shouted at and called vicious names. 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. The Vietnam War was the longest in U.S. history until the Afghanistan War (20012021). To achieve this effect she chose polished black granite for the walls. And none of them discussed their own personal feelings or political views regarding the war. Better armed than ever before, thanks to increased aid from the Soviet Union, they employed tanks for the first time. History of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Ironically, the leadership of North Vietnam came to a similar conclusion: they had to inflict enough casualties on Americans to end support for the war on the U.S. homefront and force a withdrawal before the U.S. could build up sufficient numbers of men and material to defeat them. 3) It provoked antiwar sentiment. The act of dark tourism is somewhat controversial, with some viewing it as an act of respect and others as unethical practice. 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 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. At that time, they just ignored you and wished you would go away. Why was the Vietnam War Memorial so controversial? - 2023 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. Michael Clark, Remembering Vietnam, Cultural Critique 3 (Spring 1986): 50. Memorials are built to give context and, possibly, meaning to suffering that is otherwise incomprehensible. 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. And if they were bitter, who could blame them? 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. It seemed every time they contacted someone, they were greeted with enthusiasm for the idea. 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. As VVMF focused on fundraising, Sens. On March 5, 1975, the NVA invaded again. Sturken, 322; Anne Swartz, American Art After September 11: A Consideration of the Twin Towers, Symploke 14, nos. To make his dream a reality, he planned to get support from people as diverse as former anti-war presidential candidate George McGovern and Gen. William Westmoreland, who commanded U.S. forces in Vietnam. He was in Vietnam, serving in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade. An author, teacher, and lecturer, Spreiregen had written the authoritative book on design competitions. North Vietnam Vietnam has a long history of being ruled by foreign powers, and this led many Vietnamese to see the United States involvement in their country as neo-colonialism. It seemed unfair and inappropriate that there should be no recognition.. He, in turn, called the Buddhists VC sympathizers. During the Second World War, Vichy France could do little to protect its colony from Japanese occupation. Ultimately, the Commission of Fine Arts, which had the final say in the matter, overruled Lins objections. Color meant nothing on the battlefields of Korea and Vietnam. As time progressed it caused more and more controversy in the United States. On January 27, 1973, peace accords were signed between North Vietnam and the U.S. 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. Westmoreland adopted a search-and-destroy policy to find and engage the enemy and use superior firepower to destroy him. 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. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. 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. Each juror was required to read Fields of Fire, A Rumor of War, and other current literature about the Vietnam War. Omissions? 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. Compounding the pain was that societys ill treatment of the veterans extended to their families. This grew into the operation known as Rolling Thunder that began on March 2, 1965, and continued to November 2, 1968. The division was supposed to be temporary: elections were to be held in both sections in 1956 to determine the countrys future. On the other hand, Congress had never declared war and so the president was limited in what he could do in Southeast Asia. The Inspiration. In the nine months since hed been in-country, Scruggs had already seen a lot of action and had been wounded in a battle near Xuan Loc. 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 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). 17. 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. 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. A memorial made perfect sense to him. An electrical storm was interfering with the ships radar and may have given the impression of approaching attack boats. Their military experience meant they had contacts far and wide, at all levels of all professions, within government and the private sector. The following February a strategic hamlet program began; it forcibly relocated South Vietnamese peasants to fortified strategic hamlets. It was World War II and her family lived in Nam Dinh, an industrial city and military target on the north coast of Vietnam. 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. She is still remembered fondly by veterans for the moving Memorial she designed for them. Video: In late spring 1969, American and South . 9. South Vietnam Scruggs took two weeks off from his job at the Department of Labor to develop the idea further. Cambodia The list of tasks to achieve such a goal seemed endless. They struck at least 30 provincial capitals and the major cities of Saigon and Hue. But several weeks after the announcement, a handful of people began to protest the design. 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. But the veterans had real problems. The VC and NVA dragged off as many of their dead and wounded as possible, sometimes impressing villagers into performing this task during battles, so determining their casualties was guesswork based on such things as the number of blood trails. The whole week was extremely emotional, Becky Scruggs remembered. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. The bronze sculpture, depicting three women caring for an injured soldier, recognized the work of the more than 10,000 women who served in Vietnam. 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. Woods remembered, I was like the kid at FAO Schwartz. 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 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. Lin vociferously objected to the inclusion of Harts piece, arguing that it violated the integrity of [her] design and created the sensation of being watched, as if one were on a golf green. As Sturken points out, this did little to evoke veterans sympathy: Lin stuck to her position as an outsider . In July 1959 Major Dale Buis and Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand were off duty when they were killed during an attack at Bien Hoa. Over 500,000 wounded, Explore articles from the HistoryNet archives about Vietnam War. Vietnam, however, was divided at the 17th parallel. 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). Why was Lin's Vietnam Veterans Memorial initially controversial? For example, veteran Tom Carhart famously commented: I dont care about artistic perceptions, I dont care about the rationalizations that abound. Its mere existence would be societal recognition that their sacrifices were honorable rather than dishonorable. That afternoon, the winning design was selected, said Spreiregen. Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Washington DC It just resonated, he explained. In the fall of 1980, VVMF announced the national design competition open to any U.S. citizen, who was over 18 years old. Jan came to our headquarters to see if we had any room to help them get started, Cupp remembered. Earlier, Wild Bill Donovan, head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the World War II forerunner of the CIA, had also advised that the U.S. had nothing to gain and much to lose by becoming involved in what was then French Indochina. American helicopters rescued members of its embassy and flew some South Vietnamese to safety, but most were left behind. He was in Vietnam, serving in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade. Their military experience meant they had contacts far and wide, at all levels of all professions, within government and the private sector. . The controversial Vietnam War was long and drawn out, fought in a humid terrain alien to American soldiers. We do not memorialize bus accidents, which by nature are contextless, meaningless. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial: from Controversy to Healing Early in his efforts Scruggs had called on Emogene Cupp, then the national president of the American Gold Star Mothers. 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. The truth was, veterans were no more likely to be addicted to drugs than those who did not serve. 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. . 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. When VVMF announced the selection of Lins design, the initial public reaction was generally positive. 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. The National Review commented, The mode of listing the names makes them individual deaths, not deaths in a cause; they might as well have been traffic accidents. Similarly, the New Republic opined: It is an unfortunate choice of memorial. 19. Watt followed on March 11, 1982, by granting permission for the construction permits. 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. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). I think I even spilled my coffee. But, her presence made a difference. Like the war itself, this memorialization was highly controversial, but the site has become the most frequently visited memorial in Washington, D.C., drawing over 4 million visitors annually. This began a series of destabilizing changes in government leadership. Maya Lin, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 198182. Were all the result of our upbringing. VVMF met the prospective jurors and scrutinized their credentials. Her only son Robert, an Army draftee, was killed by a land mine on his 21st birthday, June 6, 1968. 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. . 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. 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. 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. (Ten times as many Vietnamese had fled the north, where the Communist Party was killing off its rivals, seizing property, and oppressing the large Catholic population.) When Scruggs went to see the movie in early 1979, it wasnt the graphic war scenes that haunted him. Lin became a design consultant to the architect of record. 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. and was so hurt by the controversy . No American air strikes came to aid the overstretched South Vietnamese, despite Nixons earlier assurances to Thieu. Seven more such immolations occurred that year. 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. Sturken, 322. 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. 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. In this sense, it was a complex ideological battle. 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. About Vietnam Veterans Memorial. In accordance with the strict competition guidelines, anonymity of all designs was carefully observed. The body count policy fell into disfavor and was not employed in future American wars; in Vietnam it led officers to inflate enemy casualties.