Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Did You Know?

• The names are inscribed in Optima typeface, designed by Hermann Zapf.
• There are eight women's names included in the memorial—all were nurses.

Appearance

The memorial is composed of two adjoining walls. Each wall is 246 ft long and is composed of 72 black granite panels that are polished to a high finish. Seventy of the panels on each wall are inscribed with the names of the men and women being honored. The walls taper from 8 in tall at their extremities to 10.1 ft tall at the apex where they meet, their bottom edges descending below the level of the surrounding earth while their top edges stay level.

As such, visitors walking the length of the memorial start at ground level, descend below it, and ascend back to ground level. This is symbolic of a 'wound that is closed and healing' and exemplifies the Land art movement of the 1960s. The stone for the 144 panels was quarried in Bangalore, India. One wall points to the Washington Monument, the other to the Lincoln Memorial, meeting at an angle of 125° 12′.

Each wall has 72 panels, 70 listing names (numbered 1E through 70E and 70W through 1W), and two very small blank panels at the extremities. A pathway for visitors extends along the base of the Wall. The names on the Wall, originally numbering 57,939 when it was dedicated in 1982, are listed in the chronological order of the dates of casualty. Additional names have been added throughout the years since: As of 2018 there were 58,320 names.

Directories of the names and their locations are located on nearby podiums at both ends of the Memorial. The memorial has had some unforeseen maintenance issues. In 1984, cracks were detected in the granite and, as a result, two of the panels were temporarily removed in 1986 for study. More cracks were later discovered in 2010.

There are a number of hypotheses about the cause of the cracks, the most common being due to thermal cycling. In 1990, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund purchased several blank panels to use in case any were ever damaged; these were placed into storage at Quantico Marine Base. Two of the blank panels were shattered by the 2011 Virginia earthquake.

History

The memorial was initially controversial for its lack of heroic ornamentation and iconography, but its reputation improved over time. In 2007, it was ranked tenth on the 'List of America's Favorite Architecture' by the American Institute of Architects. As a national memorial, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Three Servicemen statue was not part of Maya Lin's original design and was added two years later in response to veteran support.

The Vietnam Women's Memorial was authorized by separate legislation from that of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. A memorial plaque, authorized by an Act of Congress, was dedicated on November 10, 2004, at the northeast corner of the plaza surrounding the Three Soldiers statue to honor veterans who died after the war as a result of injuries suffered in Vietnam, but who fall outside Department of Defense guidelines. Ruth Coder Fitzgerald, the founder of The Vietnam War In Memory Memorial Plaque Project, worked for years to have the In Memory Memorial Plaque completed.

Inspired works

Several transportable replicas of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial allow people unable to travel to Washington, D.C., to experience the Wall. John Devitt, using personal funds, founded Vietnam Combat Veterans, Ltd., and built a half-size replica called The Moving Wall, first displayed in Tyler, Texas, in 1984. It visits hundreds of towns, staying five or six days at each site. The wall is often escorted by state troopers and local motorcyclists, including Patriot Guard Riders.

The first retired structure has been on permanent display at the Veterans Memorial Amphitheater in Pittsburg, Kansas since 2004. Duluth, Minnesota, hosts the Northland Vietnam Veterans Memorial, dedicated May 30, 1992. The Wall That Heals, a three-quarter scale replica started in 1996 by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, travels via a 53-foot tractor-trailer and converts into a mobile Education Center. An earlier half-scale replica is permanently displayed at the James E. Van Zandt VA Medical Center in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Cultural representations

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall has sparked more than 60 songs, according to the Vietnam War Song Project. These tracks range from patriotic honors for the names on the wall to the viewpoints of families and friends, as well as expressions of blame and anti-war feeling. The first song released on record was 'The Wall' by Britt Small & Festival, played at the memorial in November 1982 and later put out as a 7-inch single. That same year, Vietnam veterans Michael J. Martin and Tim Holiday released 'Who are the names on the Wall?'.