For Memorial Day, we"re visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. More than 58,000 names of men and women who served and died in the Vietnam War are etched on the black granite V-shaped wall. In 1981, Maya Lin was just 21 and still an undergraduate at Yale when she won a nationwide public competition to design the memorial. But when her design was unveiled, its minimalist and nontraditional approach sparked controversy. Many considered it bleak and thought the black granite symbolized defeat rather than honor. To address these criticisms, and over Lin"s objections, a bronze statue of three servicemen was added to the plan. Later another statue, the Vietnam Women"s Memorial, was erected south of the wall. Today the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is among the most popular and revered landmarks in DC, drawing over 4.5 million visitors a year.
Reflections on Memorial Day
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
- 
					Ring of Brodgar, Orkney, Scotland
- 
					Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
- 
					A winter’s holiday ends
- 
					Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia
- 
					Polar bear season in Manitoba
- 
					Swim city
- 
					A bird of beauty
- 
					A view from the top
- 
					Fog above the forest
- 
					Keep shining
- 
					1.1 billion opportunities for a better world
- 
					International Museum Day
- 
					Aurora borealis
- 
					Mount Hamilton, near San Jose, California
- 
					Three Natural Bridges, Wulong Karst, China
- 
					World Water Day
- 
					World Giraffe Day
- 
					Put your flippers in the air…
- 
					A tower of light
- 
					International Beaver Day
- 
					National Go Birding Day
- 
					Lobster tales
- 
					Who doesn’t love a ‘Puppy’?
- 
					Celebrate Mandela Day
- 
					The migrating monarchs of Michoacán
- 
					Over the boardwalk
- 
					World Bee Day
- 
					National Blueberry Day
- 
					Remembering Krakatoa
- 
					Night view of the RMS Queen Mary, Long Beach, California
 Bing Wallpaper Gallery
Bing Wallpaper Gallery 
	
