They would include a big National Salute to Vietnam Veterans at Veterans Day. However, the media was not the only entity invested in the veterans compelling predicament. At the time of the memorials design, many veterans who had been exposed to Agent Orange, a chemical weapon used by the U.S. military as an herbicide and defoliant, still suffered ongoing health problems. 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. Direct mail was proving to be a highly effective fundraising tool. Diem fell from favor with his American patrons, partly over disagreements in how to handle the war against the VC and partly because of his unpopular suppression of religious sects and anyone he feared threatened his regime. That changed in August 1964. Unlike previous wars, where only still images or short movie newsreels were available for conveying images, this was Americas first television war. 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. While many veterans successfully reintegrated into their families and communities, tucking their experiences in combat away on a mental back shelf, others were unable to cope on their own. 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. Doubek approached Scruggs after the meeting and suggested that he form a nonprofit corporation as a vehicle to build a memorial. He had been a war correspondent during World War II and had reported from Vietnam during Americas early involvement. Ibid. She was regularly swept up and raced to the bomb shelter with her parents and siblings. Mathias also knew the country was ready, Healy recalled. 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 the selection of the granite was narrowed down, Lin was keen on preserving the notion that the granite walls be reflective and thin to help express a critical aspectof the design that the memorial was a cut in the earth that had been polished. 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. Many felt it should be composed primarily of veterans; others felt it should be made up only of professionals; some thought a mix of the two would be best. The program, which had been poorly managed, was abandoned after about two years, following the coup that deposed Diem. Here are four facts about the provocative memorial. Each contestant sealed his or her name in an envelope and taped it to the back of the submission. The ARVN bent but did not break. It also offered a way to exorcise lingering bitterness and anxieties that the war had propagated. The war was extremely divisive in the U.S., Europe, Australia, and elsewhere. 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. 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. She greeted each visitor in a regal fashion, wearing a dressing gown, perfect makeup, and beautiful shoes that curled up at the toes. Only a few, such as the St. Louis Gateway Arch, part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, had been the result of open competitions. The first cut was further reduced to 90 by midday Wednesday. The South Vietnamese Army was showing improvement, winning 37 of their last 45 major engagements. In the early 20th century, Vietnamese nationalism began to rise, clashing with the French colonial rulers. I had my ear to the ground, Mathias recalled. He also said there would be a pause in the air attacks on North Vietnam as the first step to de-escalate and promised America would substantially reduce the present level of hostilities.. 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. There is considerable debate over whether he was primarily nationalist or communist, but he was not especially anti-Western. Intellectually and emotionally, America could embrace the idea. Both sides were fighting a war of attrition, so communist commanders sent Hanoi battle reports that often were pure fantasy. Marita Sturken, The Aesthetics of Absence: Rebuilding Ground Zero, American Ethnologist 31, no. 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. 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. They did not like its minimalist design. Because he possessed great knowledge of history, he understood the extensive healing process required after war. The following week, Kurt Anderson recapped the festivities for TIME magazine: Saturdays three-hour parade down Constitution Avenue, led by [Gen. William] Westmoreland, was the vets own show. In fact, he would spend a lifetime trying to honor their memory. In addition to the accounts of its creation, sev- When the veterans began to return home they were greeted not with cheers and shouts of joy that soldiers met when they came home from WW2. Cambodia 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. CBS evening news anchor Walter Cronkite returned to Vietnam to see for himself what was happening. The Civil Rights Movement had produced significant victories, but many blacks had come to describe Vietnam as a white mans war, a black mans fight. Between 1961 and 1966, black males accounted for about 13 percent of the U.S. population and less than 10 percent of military personnel but almost 20 percent of all combat-related deaths. movements and weakening the morale of Americans fighting in Vietnam. Corrections? 2) It applauded feminist efforts. American involvement began to escalate under President John F. Kennedys administration (January 1961November 1963). In the end, the quarry in India was selected. Over the next few years, as the war came to a close and more and more troops returned home, the media began to paint a picture of the stereotypical Vietnam veteran: drug addicted, bitter, discontented, and unable to adjust to life back home. It was a whirlwind of events, and the press coverage was unbelievable. Watt followed on March 11, 1982, by granting permission for the construction permits. Oooo, not any more, not any more. They were real guys. The names are inscribed in the chronological order of their dates of casualty, showing the war as a series of individual human sacrifices and giving each name a special place in history. In the Shadow of the Washington Monument. After Lins monument was dedicated on November 13, 1982, however, it became a popular and moving tourist attraction. Social critics and commentators quickly picked up and elaborated on Carharts characterization of the memorial. Also known as "America's Longest War," U.S. involvement in Vietnam War did not end until 1973. 3 (August 2004): 122. Warner, at the time married to Elizabeth Taylor, had strong connections to both Hollywood and the corporate world. By now, we are so accustomed to its visual rhetoricthe polished black granite, the lists of names, the horizontal positioningthat to think of these components as anything but standard practice takes an act of real imagination. When I meet Vietnam veterans who stop me to say thank you for creating the Memorial, I always want to say: thank you, for the service and sacrifices that all of you have made in service to your country, she added. Military personnel, including nurses, were warned not to wear their uniforms in the States. 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. Frances military involvement in Vietnam began when it sent warships in 1847, ostensibly to protect Christians from the ruling emperor Gia Long. They complained about the walls being black. By years end, 23,000 American military personnel would be in South Vietnam. Many people will not comprehend this design until they experience it. American drawdown continued, with only 43,000 personnel left in-country by mid-August. 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. Civilian deaths during that time period were estimated at 2 million, but the U.S. estimate of civilians killed in the north at 30,000. The design Lin envisioned listed the names chronologically by date of casualty. Every 15 minutes, there was a pause for prayer. Most at the meeting told him they didnt want a memorial; they wanted more benefits and government support. 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. Frederick Hart. The U.S., possessing the largest foreign military presence, essentiallydirected the war from 1965 to 1968. Scruggs and Doubek met with Mathias to outline their plans. Vietnam veteran Jan Scruggs, the individual to first pitch the idea of a memorial, used $2,800 of his own money to begin the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund in 1979, according to History. Veterans needed this, and so did the nation. When VVMF announced the selection of Lins design, the initial public reaction was generally positive. Each submittal had to be hung at eye level for review by the jury. Letters came from moms, dads, grandparents, sons and daughters with heartfelt notes accompanied by checks and dollar bills. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund | 3033 Wilson Blvd, Suite 300 | Arlington VA 22201 | 202.393.0090 The photo was published worldwide under the title The Ultimate Protest, raising (or in some cases reinforcing) doubts about the government that the democratic United States was supporting. An article by Hugh Sidey in the February 22, 1982, issue ofTIMEmagazine described the session: A few days ago, 40 supporters and critics of the memorial gathered to try to break the impasse that threatened the memorial because of such features as the black color of the stone and its position below ground level. History of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The number of parties who claimed direct investmentwhether emotional, psychological, or financialin the site and its future form and use only made the issue more complex and difficult to resolve. 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. The jury evaluation took place over five days, from April 27 through May 1, 1981. The design team and VVMF searched for a way for the names to be sandblasted rather than hand-carved. I remember The Washington Post had pages and pages of stories in the A section. Vietnam veterans were, at long last, receiving the recognition they deserved. 4. Her only son Robert, an Army draftee, was killed by a land mine on his 21st birthday, June 6, 1968. Ibid. Some of the juror comments included: We do not memorialize bus accidents, which by nature are contextless, meaningless. [] Over the past two months, art mullahs of every description have begun a holy war against the addition of [Harts] statue.8. 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. On the off chance that military and political analysts are right, in the next few months we must test the enemys intentions, in case this is indeed his last big gasp before negotiations. 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. It just resonated, he explained. Financial costs had risen to $30 billion a year. With the site approved, VVMF scrambled to address the issues of what the Memorial would look like and who would design it. With such an overwhelming response to the competition, logistics became an issue. For weeks, he obsessed about the idea of building a memorial. It seemed unfair and inappropriate that there should be no recognition.. 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. Ultimately, one of the greatest challenges was how to get that many names on the wall panels in such a short period of time. 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. By years end, 2,573 individuals and teams had registered almost 3,800 people in total. However, that posed a problem of how tolocate an individual name. The memorial was built to honor that spirit and the sacrifice of so many who gave everything they had to give. 8. He organized the advisors and volunteers into task groups: public relations, financial management, fund raising, legislation, site selection, and design/construction. Thus, it is unsurprising that the first skirmish of the culture wars of the 1980s can be traced back to the public debate that broke out in reaction to Maya Lins design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Michael Clark, Remembering Vietnam, Cultural Critique 3 (Spring 1986): 50. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. 4: The Artistic Controversy, 3/1982-11/1985 >>>>> 1988. Lins minimal plan was in sharp contrast to the traditional format for a memorial, which usually included figurative heroic sculpture. No American air strikes came to aid the overstretched South Vietnamese, despite Nixons earlier assurances to Thieu. 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. Peter Walker and Michael Arad. With the winning design in hand, Spreiregen had less than 24 hours to craft an explanation of the decisionand the designthat would be suitable for presentation to VVMF. 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 reputation of the jurors was important to attract the best designers and to minimize second guessing by the Federal approval bodies. 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. All of them realized how critical it was that a memorial be apolitical. 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. 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. But I was always impressed with the example my parents set.. In March 1979, inspired by the Hollywood film The Deer Hunter, Scruggs launched a personal crusade to raise funds for a memorial that would pay tribute to the soldiers who had lost their lives in the war. 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. 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. Maya Lins original competition submission for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. They came from all parts of the country and represented every state. Maya Lin worked closely with Cooper-Lecky on all aesthetic aspects of the design. They treated the moms the same as they treated the vets. Two nights later, Maddox and the destroyer USS Turner Joy were on patrol in the Gulf and reported they were under attack. Some observers attributed this factor to Maya Lins presence on the jurying panel, which also included victims families, political appointees, curators, and other artists.17 It was even announced at one point that Walkers and Arads design resembled a sketch that Lin had made for the sort of memorial that might be placed at the site.18 Like Lins design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Reflecting Absence was criticized for failing to incorporate any representations of human figures, its minimal design interpreted as a rejection of codes of heroism.19 In a practical reenactment of the negotiation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the addition of a representational statue of three firefighters hoisting a flag at Ground Zero was proposed. In accordance with the strict competition guidelines, anonymity of all designs was carefully observed. Both the Army of the Republic of South Vietnam (ARVN) and the VC used torture, to extract information or to cowl opposition. 5/1981 - 3/1982. Early in his efforts Scruggs had called on Emogene Cupp, then the national president of the American Gold Star Mothers. Most, like the Lincoln Memorial, were competitions between select designers. Ultimately, the Commission of Fine Arts, which had the final say in the matter, overruled Lins objections. The Vietnam War was an extremely long conflict, lasting from the sending of a group of advisors to aid South Vietnam on November 1, 1955, to the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. 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. End-to-end, the total number of submissions would have stretched one and one third linear miles. . The added component of military security made the location even more attractive, since it would ensure no interference with the designs or the judging. The VC was effectively finished; it would not field more than 25,00040,000 troops at any time for the remainder of the war. They were either ignored or shouted at and called vicious names. Scruggs took a bold step in contacting Virginia Senator John Warner. They were the only father-son pair to die in Vietnam.) 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. William Jayne, who had been wounded in Vietnam, volunteered to head up public relations activities. Spreiregen recommended having a multi-disciplinary panel: two architects, two landscape architects, two sculptors, and one generalist with extensive knowledge about art, architecture, and design. But the fact that the language deployed to critique Arads and Walkers design so closely echoed the criticism launched against Lin in the early 1980s signifies that the debates of that era remain unresolved. 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. 17. Scruggs took two weeks off from his job at the Department of Labor to develop the idea further. 5. This would be a war without a front or a rear; it would involve full-scale combat units and individuals carrying out terrorist activities such as the Brink Hotel bombing. At the time, well-managed open design competitions were common in Europe, but not in the United States. Scruggs added: Make this place look like an airstrike was called in, he instructed. During President Dwight Eisenhowers administration (19531961), financial aid was given to pay South Vietnams military forces and American advisors were sent to help train them. to the memorial, as well as the rituals that take place there and what role the memorial may be playing in the construction of a his-tory of the Vietnam War.8 Beyond the academic discourse, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial has also in-spired a considerable popular literature. 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/. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) advised that was not the caseAmerica had a strong military presence in the Pacific that would serve as a deterrent. There is also disharmony between the nay-saying wall and the unequivocally proud flag [] And nothing has happened to make Maya Lins creation look less like what it suggests to some veterans and some non-combatant citizens: an open grave.'9. Westmoreland adopted a search-and-destroy policy to find and engage the enemy and use superior firepower to destroy him. The whole week was extremely emotional, Becky Scruggs remembered. Corruption and instability in South Vietnams government did not instill confidence in its people, or in the Americans working with it. But instead of enthusiasm, he received skepticism. ever and endured a raging national controversy over the avant-garde . In a February 27, 1968, broadcast he summed up what he had found during his return trip to the war zone. Im sure I looked like a deer in the headlights, I was so nervous, Scruggs recalled. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. Overview Military conscription, commonly known as "the draft," is one of the most complex topics related to the Vietnam War. Perhaps Lins centralitytwenty years after the construction of the Vietnam Veterans Memorialto the debate over Arads and Walkers design was inevitable, given her presence on the design competitions selection committee as well as her legacy as the definitive memorial builder of the late twentieth century. Were all the result of our upbringing. Over 500,000 wounded, Explore articles from the HistoryNet archives about Vietnam War. 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. Scruggs and Doubek realized that Cupp could be instrumental in helping communicate the all-important personal, emotional side of the healing story. They serve as testaments to lives lost, as repositories of grief, and to facilitate processes of mourning. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, located in Washington D.C., is a tribute to the soldiers who served in the Vietnam War. 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 . ", 3: The Political Controversy, 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. As they forged a partnership with Mathias and his staff, VVMF also set out to establish other key relationships. When the winning Vietnam Veterans Memorial design was dedicated on November 13, 1982, a storm of controversy followed. Video: His research had proven that post-traumatic stress was real and had shone a light on the challenges faced by a significant number of military veterans. 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. The Three Soldiers (also known as The Three Servicemen) is a bronze statue by Frederick Hart. But several weeks after the announcement, a handful of people began to protest the design. On April 30, 1980, the Senate approved legislation authorizing the Memorial, followed by approval in the House on May 20, 1980. He was in Vietnam, serving in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade. The greatest challenge VVMF faced, said Doubek, was to put together a functioning organization with people who didnt know one another, people who were very young and didnt have a lot of experience. Memory Foundations (planned design for former site of World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, New York). The body count policy fell into disfavor and was not employed in future American wars; in Vietnam it led officers to inflate enemy casualties. And none of them discussed their own personal feelings or political views regarding the war. One of Mathias early key suggestions was that the memorial should be on the Mall, especially because the anti-war demonstrations had taken place there. 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. Others questioned the intent of the Memorial. 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. After the dedication, Scruggs and Wheeler walked together along the upper side of the Memorial ground, near Constitution Avenue. Paul Haagas spouse, Heather Sturt Haaga, soon came forward to lend her experience in fund raising. . North Vietnam was a prodigy of both the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Red China. For this reason, in Vietnam today it is known as the American War. This lends a sense of personal intimacy in a public space which helps create a sense of connection to the memorial. 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. Maya Lin, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 198182. 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. He was in Vietnam, serving in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The peasants resented being forced from their ancestral lands, and consolidating them gave the VC better targets. Because Warner was from Virginia and Mathias from Maryland, the two had worked together on many regional issues.