Vietnam Veterans Memorial
“The Wall”
Friday, April 20, 2018
Clear, 60°
“It is better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times.”
During the long walk between the Capitol Building down the expanse of the Mall in Washington, DC you cannot help but be struck in awe by the sights of the Monuments all around you as you make your way to “The Wall”. It is over two miles to walk from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial next to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on its right.
There are the many museums of the Smithsonian lining each side of the Mall. The long wide grassy stretches between the Capitol and the Washington Monument were a deep green contrasted to the bright blue skies above.
The National Mall is America’s most-visited national park, where the past, present and future come together. The monuments and memorials in this park honor American forefathers and heroes who paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to this country. From the “I Have a Dream” speech to the AIDS Quilt, the Mall is the national stage where movements and celebrations take place, where people gather to have their voices heard.
Seeing the Washington Monument rise majestically to the sky, surrounded by the stately U.S. Capitol Building at one end and the dignified Lincoln Memorial at the other, it’s hard not to think of America’s history. Exploring the swath of land nicknamed “America’s front yard” is like seeing history come to life all around you. Visiting DC gives you a renewed feeling of patriotism. You feel so proud that you are an American. The best is that the statues, memorials and monuments are in such close distance to each other. What can you say? This monument is the center of historic Washington DC, and truly a work of art! It’s so magnificent at night as well! I once lay on my back and looked at the monument from this perspective! It was truly amazing! It becomes a “northern star” for everyone in DC, if you can glimpse it, you can usually determine about where you are in the city. The two-tone color of the stone and the way the light shines off the monument is amazing. An American Iconic vision! Viewable from all around but must be touched to be truly experienced. Right now this monument is closed indefinitely for repairs so there is a fence all the way around with many flags in a circle along the fence.
The stroll past the Washington Monument brings you slightly downhill as you approach the World War II Memorial and fountains with the Reflection Pool and steps leading up to the Lincoln Memorial at the other end. Walking along the Reflection Pool several things come to mind, on a whimsical note, I can still visualize ”Jenny” wading out in it yelling at Forrest Gump. The other is all of the masses of people around during Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Today there are many people milling around the pool, on the steps, and inside the Lincoln Memorial. Most reverent but there were still many young teenagers noisily being teenagers not realizing the significance of their surroundings. It’s a shame really, as it could have been a very impactful moment.
It’s been over 30 years since I last saw the Lincoln Memorial. It never ceases to amaze me. It is truly magnificent and so fitting for one of the best United States presidents in our history with his famous “Four Score” speech engraved on the walls and in our minds. It is truly inspirational to stand on the steps where MLK gave his “I have a dream” speech and imagine all the people there or in the movie “Dave” with Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver sitting on the steps with Lincoln behind them looking out across the Reflection Pool and the Washington Monument in the distance.
It is a very short walk from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to make your way across to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. You approach the Three Soldiers statue which sits a few feet from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. This statue was added after the Wall opened to complement it and to offer an alternative memorial for critics who disliked the non-traditional design of the Wall. The sculpture's 3 soldiers represent the diversity of the US military by including a Caucasian, African American, and Latino American whose service branch is intentionally ambiguous. Together, they face the Wall of the fallen.
On March 30, 1981, 1,421 designs were submitted for the Memorial. The designs were displayed at an airport hangar at Andrews Air Force Base for the selection committee, in rows covering more than 35,000 square feet of floor space. Each entry was identified by number only, to preserve the anonymity of their authors. All entries were examined by each juror; the entries were narrowed down to 232, then 39. Finally, the jury selected entry number 1026, designed by Maya Lin.
Before proceeding to the Wall, we looked up several people to find the panel for their name. Walking the long V of granite wall and seeing name after name after name after name - there is no way a person cannot be moved by this memorial. As you walk deeper into cut earth the names grow till there are so many it is four to five feet above your head. The names and your own reflection in the wall give a staggering and stark reminder of our country’s past. The base of the Wall has many items left at loved ones names: photos, teddy bears, Vietnam ribbons, and many others. It seems as if a healing process takes place as people mourn those lost. There are volunteer veterans who help find names and explain the Memorial to groups of people stopping to listen. You can overhear the chatter of children or young adults speaking about an uncle or a father lost in the war.
I've been to this memorial several times and there is always someone there rubbing a piece of paper with a pencil to get the etching name of a loved one; always a flower or note by a loved one's name; always someone crying. Even the men. It is the simplest of memorials and also one of the most moving. The magnitude of the memorial stops you while walking alongside of it. The walls of names truly reflect the toll of the wall. When a visitor looks upon the wall, his or her reflection can be seen simultaneously with the engraved names, which is meant to symbolically bring the past and present together. One wall section points toward the Washington Monument, the other in the direction of the Lincoln Memorial, meeting at an angle of 125° 12′. Each wall has 72 panels, 70 listing names (numbered 1E through 70E and 70W through 1W) and two very small blank panels at the extremities. There is a pathway along the base of the Wall where visitors may walk.
Each time I have left the Wall I am quiet and contemplative on the walk away. This never changes for me.