Vietnam Memorial is place for somber reflection
By CALI MADIA
School of Communication
University of Miami
iWASHINGTON, D.C.--- It’s a wet and chilly November evening in Washington, D.C., but the dismal weather doesn’t affect the awe-inspiring grandeur of any of the monuments within the National Mall.
Though it’s late, hordes of visitors, including many groups of students, scuttle around the mall’s slippery sidewalks having opted to view the quiet and somber historical structures rather than join the rowdy ruckus that was occurring just a short walk away.
Tonight the White House is more heavily guarded than usual as G20 world leaders gathered to discuss the current state of the world economy.
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Protestors line the streets of Washington D.C. in demonstration against the persecution of Falun Gong in China (Photo by Melissa Goolsarran).
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Protesters lined the streets representing a variation of causes, some more boisterously than others. On one corner, huge professional looking banners are held high in the air urging people to help stop the persecution of Falun Gong, a heavily oppressed spiritual movement in the People’s Republic of China.
On another corner a disordered group of young people holding crudely made signs protest the student debt crisis.
Some hold their signs upright, alert but not pushy, while others use theirs as walking sticks, casually talking amongst themselves. Though their haphazard protest is seemingly disorganized, the young activists’ devotion to their beliefs is evident not necessarily by their professionalism, but instead their mere presence in the frigid drizzle.
Big changes are happening here but you wouldn’t know it standing in the sheltered area in which the Vietnam Veterans Memorial resides.
Students clamor around the huge books naming those American soldiers lost in the war. The cold pruny fingers of the visitors run down the slick laminated pages, scanning the books for their own last names or of those that they know.
But the closer that the groups get to the wall itself, the quieter they become. Somber respect is seemingly understood at this monument, and even the most rambunctious of visitors settle in quiet reflection once the sloped walls rise to a looming 10 feet.
A close-up of names of soliders who died during the Vietnam War are listed on a wall of the Vietnam Memorial (Photo by Hu Toyta, courtesy of Wikipedia Commons). |
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Completed 25 years ago, the long structure was designed by Maya Ying Lin, a college student with Chinese-born parents. The wall is a massive 493 feet, 6 inches in length and the names of 58,260 people lost in the war between North Vietnam and South Vietnam are inscribed in the shiny black granite.
Tonight the wall’s presence is almost indescribable as the steady rain that has been falling all day streams down the its reflective sides like tears dripping over the names of those that have died. An undeniable and pervasive feeling of sadness is evident to all that visit the wall this evening, the sad drops of rain somehow making it even more humbling than usual.
A cluster of yellow and patriotic themed wreaths is also visible from the wall, a small additional shrine to those that were lost during the war. Ribbons and photos hang from an easel. Visitors pause to match faces to the names of those that line the walls of the memorial.
Barely visible through the evening’s heavy hazy fog, the Washington Monument stands strong a few hundred yards away, its sturdy uprightness continuing the long straight line formed by the walls of the Vietnam War Memorial almost seamlessly.
Though not officially part of the memorial, The Three Servicemen statue stands at its entrance. Known also as The Three Soldiers, the bronze statue was built as a result of some veterans’ displeasure over the Vietnam War Memorial’s tomb-like design. Depicting a more human aspect of those lost during the war, it is surprising that those who stop at the statue pause only briefly before being pulled into the wall’s embracing shelter.
| Visitors to the Vietnam Memorial are reflected in the wall, with the Washington Monument in the distance (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons). |  |
The hugeness of the entire area is overwhelming. Standing small in the shadows of the massive historical monuments that occupy the national mall is humbling to say the least.
“Seeing the monuments in the National Mall was an awesome experience,” said Brandon Grom, a University of Miami student. “Seeing the Lincoln Memorial that deals with basic human rights, something that’s politically applicable today. And also seeing all of those names on the Vietnam Memorial, that’s also applicable, but hopefully it wont get to that extent,” he added, referring to the War in Iraq.
Philip Jadd, an undergraduate student at George Washington who visits the National Mall frequently, said that visitors have been flocking to the city in droves since the recent 2008 presidential election.
“Everyone wants to see a part of history,” he said, “Everyone wants to see something that they’ll be able to tell their kids about. Whenever a black SUV. drives down the street, people stare hoping that they’ll get a chance to see Obama.”
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A visitor reflects a moment after finding a name on the Vietnam Memorial. The Washington Monument is in the distance (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons). |
One thing is certain, presidential history is definitely making the fall season of 2008 different from the usual.
Buzzing with energetic activism and excitement over what is to come with the inauguration in a few weeks, the city’s emphatic welcoming of their first black president is evident by the looks of the massive numbers of crisp signs hanging from buildings all over.
Wandering about the National Mall’s vast stretching sidewalks, it is not difficult to imagine that our newest president will someday be honored here amongst the great monuments that stand today.
Soldiers are honored in this sculpture at the Vietnam Memorial on the National Mall (Photo by Cezary P., courtesy of Wikipedia Commons). |
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If You Go
Hours: Open: 24 hours a day. Staffed: 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Location: On the National Mall, near the Lincoln Memorial.
Admission: Free
Nearest Metro Station: Foggy Bottom
Visitor information phone: 202-426-6841
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