Can you see your reflection in the Vietnam memorial?

By including the names of all those who were killed or missing in action, the memorial conveys just how overwhelming the casualties were during this war. Visitors can see a reflection of themselves in the names on the black granite walls, connecting the living to those lost.

Why is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Reflecting?

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. Inscribed on the black granite walls are the names of more than 58,000 men and women who gave their lives or remain missing.

When did Lee Teter paint reflections?

1988
Now, Sekletar has painted a 16-by-35 mural of artist Lee Teter’s 1988 painting, “Reflections,” next to the Iwo Jima mural as a “tribute to the Vietnam era and the men who were involved in the war.”

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.

How does the Vietnam memorial make you feel?

Standing where the wall reaches its apex, about ten feet, I felt such a profound sadness for all those deaths, as well as awe that an artist had captured the sense of loss, and the war’s escalation, so dramatically. It was like no memorial I’d ever seen.

What 2 monuments is the wall between?

The wall, completed in 1982, has since been supplemented with the statue The Three Soldiers and the Vietnam Women’s Memorial. The memorial is in Constitution Gardens, adjacent to the National Mall and just northeast of the Lincoln Memorial….

Why was black granite chosen for the Vietnam Memorial?

The 2-acre (8,100 m2) site is dominated by a black granite wall engraved with the names of those service members who died as a result of their service in Vietnam and South East Asia during the war.

What were the main problems with the original design of the Vietnam memorial?

Some in the military saw the somber tone of the memorial as anti-war. “The problems they saw were that it wasn’t celebratory, that it made fighting and dying in an American war seem tragic,” says historian Kristin Haas.

How do you get a name added to the Vietnam memorial?

You can request to have a name added at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund website.