Vietnam War Veteran Memorial
Most people will recognize the haunting black wall so carefully chosen for the design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The dark granite surface enhances the reflective nature of the memorial as it offers glimpses of the trees and surroundings of the Constitution Gardens where the memorial rests. Over 50,000 names are inscribed on this wall, guaranteed to move every visitor who views them.
But there is more to the Vietnam Memorial than just the famous wall. Beside the wall, a statue depicts three young soldiers who seem to have emerged from the fields of battle. A United States flag waves from a sixty-foot flag pole, also part of this amazing memorial. An inscription explains that the names of the dead or missing are arranged on the wall “by the date they were taken from us.” The walls of the Vietnam Memorial were designed to point to the presidential monuments around them, establishing for those it remembers, their prominent place in history.
