Did You Know About the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall?

Did you know about the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall?

I watched a short clip about the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall this morning. I have been blessed to stand in front of this wall of honor, as well as see the traveling replica. Both are very sobering. It was very interesting to see this memorial explained to kids, and to also see an interview with the architect who designed it.

Maya Lin designed the memorial wall with much thought and desire to honor those fallen, and yet to speak to generations yet to come. She purposely chose the white granite to form the wall from. White granite, when polished becomes highly reflective. She loved the look this gave when viewing the wall. It allows you to see, but at the same time realized that though the fallen have passed into the shadowy realm, we have not. Another aspect that helped her to choose the white granite is the contrast provided when etched into. The etchings create the stark contrast of white on dark. This makes the names carved into highly visible and easy to read. However, when it rains, it almost seems as if the names disappear, causing yet another level of emotional response. She wanted to list the names in the year they died as opposed to alphabetically to help us to remember their place in time. The height and length of the wall are meant to point out the vastness of the fallen.

There are many aspects Lin considered when creating this memorial. I was happy to have seen this interview with her, which provides a little more insight into how the memorial speaks to so many people.