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:
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There’s a dog in there somewhere
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Happy anniversary to the National Park Service!
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Salzburg, Austria
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Martin Luther King Day
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Old man s whiskers growing wild
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Wild scene on the Merced River
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The persistence of Perito Moreno
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Flock online for the Great Backyard Bird Count
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I see one!
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Venture into a prehistoric gallery of art
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It s Star Wars Day
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Cousins Day
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This park is Superkilen
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Bournemouth beach huts
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Mother s Day
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Edinburgh Art Festival
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Hey, you two in the front!
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You re feeling sleepy
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Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, East Java, Indonesia
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Mapping courage in the Seventh Ward
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In orbit for Yuri s Night
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Sailing across the ice
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Negratín Reservoir, Granada, Spain
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In the Garden of Europe
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Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, New Mexico
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A visionary artist paints his own garden view
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Irohazaka road
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Peel Castle on St. Patrick’s Isle with the Isle of Man in the background
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Inside the Oculus
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When Death Valley blew its top