Vietnam War Memorial Analysis

Legacy: Compare and Contrast the Vietnam Veterans and Korean War Memorials

The Vietnam War officially ended in April of 1975 for the United States, but the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was not constructed and dedicated until March of 1982, seven years later. The viewer would notice the memorial is a black granite wall stretching around the Constitutional Gardens in Washington, D.C., which display the names of the service men and women who served in the Vietnam War. On the other hand, the Korean War officially ended in July of 1953, but the Korean War Memorial was not constructed and dedicated until July of 1995, forty-two years later. The viewer would notice the memorial is a combination of a large black granite wall surrounding nineteen stainless
No other memorials on the national mall were mainly black and dark. Most were memorials of great people or events and they were presented as bright. Neither of these memorials are bright and both cast a dark image to some viewers. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was the first out of the two memorials to be built. It was constructed and dedicated seven years after the war, which was a much shorter time frame. Soldiers were not treated well after they returned and they needed to be thanked and remembered for their service. The urgency to get the Vietnam Veterans a memorial was much more higher it seems. The memorial is only engravings and etches on the wall as compared to the Korean War Memorial, which has statues, and other memorials in the same area. The viewer could tell which of the two was built first most likely and would notice how much more elaborate the Korean War Memorial is. The memorials do have many similarities as well though. They are made of similar material and both have walls as a part of the memorial. The memorials both give the viewer a dark image, as they should, since what they are displaying is death. The memorials are not just about death but they display names and images of people that have passed fighting for the ideals of their country. This was not a bright time in American history and it is displayed in the architecture and overall design on the
Both memorials at a glance seem very similar, but when the viewer really looks closely they differ considerably. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built so soon after the war that it was riddled in controversy but what matters is that it gives those men and women who fought and died for their country a place to be remembered forever and a place for those still living to come see old friends and remember. The Korean War Memorial was build long after the war in different times when there was not so much scrutiny over what the memorial entailed. The different times also allowed for not only a statement about remembrance of the war to be made, but also a statement of the United States being one country with many different people ready to defend it when the time