why was the vietnam war memorial so controversial?

Two nights later, Maddox and the destroyer USS Turner Joy were on patrol in the Gulf and reported they were under attack. Memory Foundations (planned design for former site of World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, New York). 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. Healing meant many things to many people. Similar, even larger, atrocities were conducted by VC and NVA unitssuch as an NVA attack on a Buddhist orphanage at An Hoa in September 1970 or the execution of 5,000 people at Hue during the Tet Offensivebut the concept of American soldiers killing civilians in cold blood was more than many Americans could bear. End-to-end, the total number of submissions would have stretched one and one third linear miles. Vietnam, however, was divided at the 17th parallel. Prior war memorials had depicted brave soldiers riding horses, shooting guns, or at some other moment of triumphfor example, the massive Marine Corps War Memorial with its enormous bronze figures raising the American flag over Iwo Jima. Or, people would tell me, Well why did you let him go? Of course, what choice do you have?. Confused times need simple forms., According to the description of the design concept: The jury chose a design which will stimulate thought rather than contain it.. 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. For weeks, he obsessed about the idea of building a memorial. The war was extremely divisive in the U.S., Europe, Australia, and elsewhere. 7. The U.S., possessing the largest foreign military presence, essentiallydirected the war from 1965 to 1968. The task groups proved effective, as described by John Woods, who jointed as a key advisor. I heard there was a group of serious veterans, not just people getting together to have a beer in the evening, but a group that was serious about getting together to address the problems of the veterans.. It would be a way to honor the veterans and to help themand the countryheal. The controversy overshadowed the mission and what we were doing, until the Salute brought it all together. Population in the south was mostly clustered in a few areas along the coast; the north always enjoyed a larger population. Which Secretary of the Interior James Watt then threatens to scuttle! 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. 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. 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). . It's the most-visited memorial on the National Mall in Washington, attracting more than 5 million people each year - the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Hanoi re-activated the Viet Minh to conduct guerilla operations in the south, with the intent of destabilizing President Diems government. The Memorial had several purposes, he explained. American drawdown continued, with only 43,000 personnel left in-country by mid-August. To bring the design into reality would require an architect of record. Watt followed on March 11, 1982, by granting permission for the construction permits. Her only son Robert, an Army draftee, was killed by a land mine on his 21st birthday, June 6, 1968. ", 3: The Political Controversy, Corrections? The French suffered a major defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, leading to negotiations that ended with the Geneva Agreements, July 21, 1954. 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. The program, which had been poorly managed, was abandoned after about two years, following the coup that deposed Diem. VVMFagreed to the statue compromise, as well as to adding a flag and to reviewing the inscription on the Memorial, but they did not want to wait untila statue was designed before breaking ground. They serve as testaments to lives lost, as repositories of grief, and to facilitate processes of mourning. But the war news was hopeful. 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. At the time, well-managed open design competitions were common in Europe, but not in the United States. The selected design then had to go through Federal agency approval and development into finished plans. He made an impassioned plea for funding to his guests, members of the defense industry. 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. Having chosen Libeskinds overarching vision, titled Memory Foundations, in February 2003, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (tasked with coordinating the redevelopment of lower Manhattan and administering the nearly $10 billion in federal funds devoted to supporting that effort) two months later announced the memorial design competition. For example, veteran Tom Carhart famously commented: I dont care about artistic perceptions, I dont care about the rationalizations that abound. 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. I think I even spilled my coffee. But, her presence made a difference. Peter Walker and Michael Arad. Compounding the pain was that societys ill treatment of the veterans extended to their families. Scruggs added: Make this place look like an airstrike was called in, he instructed. 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. On April 30, their tanks entered Saigon. Ultimately, the VVMF Board agreed on a jury of the most experienced and prestigious artists and designers that could be found, since it took a mature eye to envision from two-dimensional renderings how a design would look when built. I just kept thinking to myself how quiet it was, and yet there was an immense feeling of community. They were real guys. The series of events began on Wednesday, November 10, 1982, and culminated with a service at the National Cathedral on Sunday, November14. 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. Better armed than ever before, thanks to increased aid from the Soviet Union, they employed tanks for the first time. On February 7, 1965, the U.S. Air Force began bombing selected sites in North Vietnam. They are a treasure of design insight and included many prescient thoughts as to how the Memorial would likely be experienced, Spreiregen wrote of Clays notes. He also found that those veterans whose units experienced high casualty rates were experiencing higher divorce rates and a greater frequency of combat-related dreams. His reasoning was that a complete mess would make it tough to stop construction. 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. 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. The truth was, veterans were no more likely to be addicted to drugs than those who did not serve. The winning designwas the work of Maya Ying Lin of Athens, Ohio, a 21-year-old senior at Yale University. Both sides were fighting a war of attrition, so communist commanders sent Hanoi battle reports that often were pure fantasy. Ultimately, one of the greatest challenges was how to get that many names on the wall panels in such a short period of time. In less than two weeks, these strategic bombers had shattered the norths defenses. 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. Why reinforce the bourgeoisies pathetic illusions? 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. 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. The VC were often supplemented by units of the Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN), more often called simply the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) by those fighting against it. 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 flag-waving crowds even cheered., Over the four days there were also workshops, parties, events, and reunions. Associated Press correspondent Malcolm Mal Browne photographed him sitting quietly in the lotus position as the flames consumed him. The more people you got to co-sponsor, the more people wanted to join.. Black is not a color of shame. The Memorials walls point to the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, thus bringing the Memorial into the historical context of our country. 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. Before the 1880s, the French controlled Vietnam. Video: And none of them discussed their own personal feelings or political views regarding the war. I had calculated that it was possible to see all of them in a minimum of 3 1/2 hours. It was a direct result of the First Indochina War (19461954) between France, which claimed Vietnam as a colony, and the communist forces then known as Viet Minh. Medals, toys, flowers, photographsanything and everything is left at The Wall as family and friends seek to remember their loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam. This message of personal responsibility, in contrast to governance by an elite group on behalf of individuals, became a hallmark of the Reagan administration. The entire text size and layout Lin saw as an open book. 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. With the introduction of legislation, the VVMF leaders realized that it was time to transition from a volunteer committee and to open a staffed office. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. With the jury selected, the next task was to announce and promote the competition. 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. Financial costs had risen to $30 billion a year. Another article in the same issue of the Post echoed Wolfes definition of the terms of the debate, commenting that: There is a discordance between the sophisticated wall and the unsophisticated statue. These meanings serve as unifying forces, reinforcing the idea of a shared national identity and healing rifts in the communal experience of nationhood. 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). (Woods continues to serve on VVMFs Board of Directors to this day. Sturken, 320. Photo by William Bill Lecky. 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. He had been a war correspondent during World War II and had reported from Vietnam during Americas early involvement. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, located in Washington D.C., is a tribute to the soldiers who served in the Vietnam War. When Scruggs went to see the movie in early 1979, it wasnt the graphic war scenes that haunted him. We do not memorialize bus accidents, which by nature are contextless, meaningless. American intelligence knew an attack was coming, though the Army had downplayed a New York Times report of large communist troop movements heading south. Adding to Americans disillusionment was the race issue. In the Shadow of the Washington Monument. In 1972 a poll determined he was the most trusted man in America.. 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. As soon as ground was broken for The Wall in March 1982, planning for its dedication ceremonies began. The Vietnam War is the commonly used name for the Second Indochina War, 19541975. Instead they found bitterness and discontent and they were often disliked by the public. 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. In July 1959 Major Dale Buis and Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand were off duty when they were killed during an attack at Bien Hoa. This lends a sense of personal intimacy in a public space which helps create a sense of connection to the memorial. We had to build credibility among the design community, but also build credibility with the veterans, said Woods. 8. 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. The Best Answer To The Question Why was the vietnam war memorial so controversial? The design aroused a great deal of controversy, reflecting the lack of resolution of the national conflicts over the war as well as the lack of consensus over what constituted an appropriate memorial at the end of the 20th century. 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. Most at the meeting told him they didnt want a memorial; they wanted more benefits and government support. The VVMF group liked them all and approved of them with trust and enthusiasm, even selecting three sculptors, making a total of eight jurors. I am tired of hearing it called such by you. It will be a better memorial if its not entirely understood at first. All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden.12. The American Legion, VFW, Disabled American Veterans (DAV), AMVETS, and Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) made sure their members knew that veterans were going to be honored and welcomed that week on the National Mall. 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. 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. Many who visit leave behind items in memoriam to those that have served. Joe Biden's slogan that it was time "to end the forever war" in Afghanistan was called imbecilic by former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
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