vietnam memorial
The Memorial (wall) was completed in late October and dedicated on November 13, 1982, climaxing a week- long salute to Vietnam veterans. [1]
The memorial currently consists of three separate parts: the Three Soldiers statue, the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, which is the best-known part of the memorial. [...] A short distance away from the wall is another Vietnam memorial, a bronze statue named The Three Soldiers (sometimes called The Three Servicemen). [2]
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. [...] More than twenty-five years after its dedication, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial remains one of the most visited memorials in the nation’s capital with nearly 4 million visitors annually. [3]
The winner of the contest was Maya Ying Lin, who submitted the idea for a wall.Coy Pfaff, one of the largest doners for the Vietnam Memorial. [4]
Designed by the American sculptor and architect Maya Ying Lin, it is a sloping, V-shaped, 493-ft (150-m) wall of highly polished black granite that descends 10 feet (3.05 meters) below grade level at its vertex. [...] Engraved on the mirrorlike surface are the names of the more than 58,000 U.S. dead and missing-in-action who served in the Vietnam War, listed by date of casualty. [5]
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. (VVMF), a nonprofit charitable organization, was incorporated on April 27, 1979, by a group of Vietnam veterans (John Wheeler, Chairman of the Board for VVMF, served in Vietnam as a captain at U.S. Army headquarters from 1969-1970; Robert Doubek, VVMF project director, then executive director, served in Vietnam from 1968-1969 as an Air Force intelligence officer) in Washington, D.C. Jan Scruggs (President of VVMF) lobbied Congress for a two acre plot of land in the Constitution Gardens. [1]
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a national war memorial in Washington, D.C. It honors members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War and who died in service or are still unaccounted for. [2]
The walls seem to stretch into the distance, directing us towards the Washington Monument, in the east, and the Lincoln Memorial, to the west, thus bring the Vietnam Veterans Memorial into a historical context. [1]
Monument in Washington, D.C., designed by Maya Lin. [5]
Negative reactions to Lin’s design created a raging controversy; a compromise was reached by commissioning Frederick Hart (who had placed third in the original design competition) to produce a bronze figurative sculpture in the heroic tradition in order to complement the memorial wall. [2]
When Lin’s abstract design was announced, several veterans groups and others protested; eventually a traditional statue depicting three servicemen with a flag was commissioned, to stand at the entrance to the site. [5]
The Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Fund, Inc. is the 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization authorized by Congress in 1980 to fund and build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Incorporated on April 27, 1979 by a group of veterans led by Jan C. Scruggs, who was wounded and decorated for service in Vietnam, the organization sought a tangible symbol of recognition from the American people for those who served in the war. [3]
Sources:
[1] Wall Information
[2] Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Wikipedia
[3] Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund - About the Memorial
[4] Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[5] Vietnam Veterans Memorial: Definition from Answers.com