The Moving Vietnam Wall

kshapero

kshapero

South Florida Man
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There is a half scale replica of the Vietnam Wall in Washington, DC, complete with the names of over 50,000 American men and women who last there lives in the Vietnam War. It showed up last week in our town here in Florida. Very moving.

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I suppose, but one should really go see Maya Ying Lin's actual wall in Washington D.C.

I have seen it twice in the last year. Round trip from Pensacola $298, worth every penny.
 
I suppose, but one should really go see Maya Ying Lin's actual wall in Washington D.C.
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+1
I did it in 2000 as part of the motorcycle ride 'Run For The Wall' from LA with a group of Vets.
An experience never to be forgotten.
 
Jan Pedersen said:
+1
I did it in 2000 as part of the motorcycle ride 'Run For The Wall' from LA with a group of Vets.
An experience never to be forgotten.
Click to expand...

Yes it is hard to explain to those who have not seen it.

True story:
I was shopping for a new suit, and a young couple was buying a suit for an event. They asked me what I thought, and we got to talking. The young Asian woman said that they were going to Washington to the dedication of a monument she had designed.

Missed the opening, but I have seen it a half dozen time, once in the winter. As you say, an experience not to be forgotten. Impossible to photograph the feeling of being there.

But still anyone have photos to share, I have never taken any.
 
Yes I went to it in DC way back. Very moving. No way to describe. Found my college roommate on the wall.
 
The Wall is a remarkably successful monument, especially when thinking of the rejection of the project design when it was first shared with a wider public.
 
photomoof said:
Yes it is hard to explain to those who have not seen it.

True story:
I was shopping for a new suit, and a young couple was buying a suit for an event. They asked me what I thought, and we got to talking. The young Asian woman said that they were going to Washington to the dedication of a monument she had designed.

Missed the opening, but I have seen it a half dozen time, once in the winter. As you say, an experience not to be forgotten. Impossible to photograph the feeling of being there.

But still anyone have photos to share, I have never taken any.
Click to expand...

I spent 4 years in Vietnam, on two different tours. I was still in the US Army when the news came out that Maya Ying Lin's design had won out. Frankly, I was a little miffed. I didn't think it sounded like a really inspiring memorial to those who died there.

My last assignment was in the Washington, DC area. When I visited the wall myself, I understood.

To me, one of the more poignant depictions of the wall I have seen, was actually a painting. There is a man standing sort of leaning at the wall, with his hand flat on the wall, apparently at his son's name. Rather than the reflection of the surroundings one normally sees, there is a group of soldiers depicted as a reflection on the other side of the wall, who appear to be paused, but on a combat patrol. The soldier right at the front, has his hand up touching the hand of the man.

I have a brother-in-law how always said he wanted to see the wall, but just couldn't get around to it. I had a friend who was attending an Army school in this area, who told me he wanted to see it, but just couldn't get himself to do it yet. I offered to go with him, but indeed, he just wasn't ready yet.

kshapero said:
Yes I went to it in DC way back. Very moving. No way to describe. Found my college roommate on the wall.
Click to expand...

The Wall remains a very popular memorial. I haven't been there in 6 or 7 years myself. I guess I should go again sometime soon.
 
The Korean war memorial in D.C is also quite moving. In some ways I found it even more moving and poignant than the Vietnam memorial, which is saying a lot.

While we are on the subject of memorials I can also highly recommend a visit to the World Trade Center memorial in Manhattan. I can't speak about the museum; I'm talking about the memorial itself. Also the Survivor Tree. When you are ready.

Meanwhile, I like the concept of this half-scale, traveling monument. Not everybody gets a chance to travel to Washington D.C.
 
I have been to the wall. My octogenarian father, a Korea vet, got to go on an Honor flight a couple of years ago and got to see the memorials as well. They are all moving. Here are some images I made when I visited in August of '08.

P1010273 by Roger H, on Flickr

P1010275 by Roger H, on Flickr

P1010276 by Roger H, on Flickr
 
The Vietnam and Korean memorials are very moving, each in its own way.

The WWII memorial is another story--a blight on the National Mall that disrupts the line of sight from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol, a space that was previously punctuated only by the austere Washington Monument. It looks like it was designed by Albert Speer for Nazi-era Berlin. And unlike the other two war memorials, it has nothing to say about the war or those who fought and those who died in the war. What a missed opportunity!
 
Bill W said:
The WWII memorial is another story--a blight on the National Mall that disrupts the line of sight from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol
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It is an odd structure.

As seen from the Washington Monument:
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Amazing the detail one can squeeze out of an iPhone!
 
I have not been to the Viet Nam War Memorial in DC - I need to do that someday soon. Here are a couple from our own memorial here in Minnesota. These were taken at the end of this past April, 40 years after the fall of Saigon. Both were taken with Nikon Df, the first with a 24mm/f2.8 Nikkor-NC and the second with a 35mm/f2 Nikkor-O.

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Been several times, as I don't live too far from it. The only time I don't like to go there is during Rolling Thunder (Memorial Day weekend), as it can be a bit of a circus there.


The Wall by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
 
robert blu said:
it must have been an hard tough experience...
robert
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Yes it was very hard, even after 47 years since I saw him last. I remember I said so long for spring break 1968, then never saw him again as he was drafted and by the start of the next school year, I heard he was blown up by a land mine. We were not that close, but the whole time was so insane, crazy and wonderful at the same time. moving on.
 
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