What was the controversy surrounding the Vietnam memorial wall?

A group of veterans protested the design, claiming that it was an ugly insult that portrayed the war as shameful, dishonorable and worth hiding. “For too long the veterans of that miserable conflict have borne the burden of the national ambivalence about the war,” wrote one critic.

What was the main issue detractors had with the Vietnam memorial design?

Its detractors perceived it as “a monument to defeat, one that spoke more directly to a nation’s guilt than to the honor of the war dead and the veterans,” describing it as the “black gash of shame,” the “degrading ditch,” and a “wailing wall for draft dodgers and New Lefters of the future.”4 Responding to its lack of …

What is inscribed on the walls of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial?

The last casualties are listed on the bottom line of West Panel 1 above the date “1975.” The inscription at the apex of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial reads: (Top of The Wall) IN HONOR OF THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES WHO SERVED IN THE VIETNAM WAR.

Why was the wall so controversial How has the wall helped America come to terms with the Vietnam War?

How has the Wall helped America come to terms with the Vietnam War? This was a war that nobody wanted, it was a war that caused the death of 58,220 American soldiers. People were not happy, and the wall was almost like it was celebrating the war, and I think that people found that offensive.

Why is there so much controversy about the Vietnam Memorial?

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. Eventually, a compromise was reached with the commissioning of a traditional statue depicting…

What is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall?

The memorial wall is an almost half-size granite replica of the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the only permanent memorial north of the nation’s capital.

What is the Vietnam Wall controversy?

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. Experience the evolution of the Vietnam Wall controversy by reading through a chronological list of documents divided into five rounds:

Is the Vietnam Memorial anti-war?

Many veterans, politicians, critics, and the general public read its refusal to explicitly glorify the war or frame the listed soldiers’ sacrifice in recognizably heroic terms as an ideological statement, proof of Lin’s—and the memorial’s—purported anti-war position.