The monument is dedicated to those who never returned from the Vietnam War, and it stands out compared to the others along the National Mall for its delicate, simple style. As you can see, it is not even visible from a distance. It appears simply as a gash that splits the ground in two, highlighting a wound felt by the entire nation.
It is the work of Maya Lin, an architect of Chinese origin, who won the competition to design it at the age of just 21. It was inaugurated on 13 November 1982. It is today considered one of the ten most important works of contemporary architecture in the United States.
As you can see, the monument is formed by two simple triangular walls about 75 meters long, in mirror-polished black gabbro, a volcanic rock. One part faces the Washington Monument, while the other faces the Lincoln Memorial. Each wall is divided into 72 panels. Two small panels at the ends are blank, and the remaining 70 are engraved with the names of the American soldiers who fell during the war. The 58,318 names are listed in chronological order, with no distinction based on rank or age, from east to west, from the first victim in 1959 to the last in 1975. If you look closely, you’ll see that some names have a diamond next to them and others a cross. The former died in battle, while the latter were declared missing in action.
Near the wall, on the right, you can see the statue of the Three Soldiers, of European, African and Hispanic origin, designed to represent the multi-ethnic composition of the US army. The statue faces the memorial, as if paying tribute to the names listed on the walls. The statue was originally commissioned to be placed at the top of Maya Lin’s work, but the architect opposed this decision.
Finally, you might wonder why someone is placing a piece of paper on top of a name on the wall and tracing the name with a pencil. These people are relatives of the victims, who want to take away a reminder of their pilgrimage to the monument dedicated to their loved one.
