A Brief Note On Korean War Veterans Memorial

No war in American history not fought on American soil can claim to have as big an impact on America as a whole than the Vietnam War. The social and political divisions caused by the war changed America as a nation and especially changed those who fought in it. Despite the sacrifices of these veterans, both those who returned and those who did not, Americans on both sides forgot or even vilified those who fought, either as losers or as tokens of an unjust war. To remedy this problem through reconciliation and honor those who died in Vietnam, a group of veterans campaigned to build a national memorial in Washington, D.C. From its original design to the present

B-Summary of Evidence It was just five years before, that World War II had ended and no one was expecting another war to happen. Korea was on its own with no money and government or army. The United States and Soviet Union were allies at that time and they agreed to occupy different parts of Korea. The Soviet Troops occupied the area north of the 38th parallel and the United States occupied the south of the 38th parallel.

The 107th Infantry Memorial is located in Manhattan, New York on east 67th Str and 5th Ave. It’s beautiful sculpture work, great attention to detail, and powerful pose help this memorial standout from all. The memorial was created to honor those men who dedicated their lives to our great nation. To fully understand the significance of this memorial it’s history, location, design, and people’s attitudes toward it.

These memorials are in memory of the fallen soldiers and sometimes the soldiers that made it out alive.

The artist of the memorial, Maya Lin, is an American of Asian descent who is famous for her sculptures and land art. Her most famous work, the Vietnam Memorial, was chosen in a contest, and her designs both mesmerized and angered many people. Since them, works and designs she has created for competitions have been mainly memorials and remembrances based on historical events. Her works are intended to use the natural texture and geology of the space around the monument to its advantage in its creation.

John Carhart said, “The jurors know nothing of the real war in Vietnam - the television portrayal was far from adequate. The net result is that the design the jury chose as the winner was necessarily a function of their perception of the war they lived through in America” (Source E). There were really two wars going on at this point. The first one was a military war fought in Vietnam and the other was a political war going on here at home (Source E). When the civilians who voted for the memorial, they only knew and experienced the political war. If veterans would have chosen the design, it would not be this one. People who lived through the war, like John Carhart, should have chosen what the design would

Maya Lin, an architecture student at Yale University, designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which was just as controversial as the war was. She submitted her design in the nationwide competition being held for the Vietnam Memorial. The memorial itself is made of black granite with the names of every fallen and missing in action soldier. It sits between the Washington and Lincoln memorials on the National Mall. Lin’s design showed the memorial to be V-shaped and sunken into the ground. The Vietnam war itself was not a celebrated past time like the other wars in US history. It was the first loss in America’s entire history. That in itself polarized many Americas to be against the war especially towards the end. Vietnam was the first modern

As I recently traveled to Washington D.C. I visited an extremely empowering memorial - the Vietnam Veterans Wall. I walked along the endless panels and the thousands of names, I realized the impact that this war had on our country and that these names are actual people. They are brothers, fathers, sons, uncles, friends. These individuals left their family, their wives, their children. Some gave their lives, and some gave their sanity, but they all suffered for something much bigger. Many Americans fought in the Vietnam War - some against their will, many as young as 18 years of age. They risked their lives fighting for us, for our country and for a difference. Some soldiers returned home, and sadly, some did not. Many of whom arrived in April,

To me it seems as if Komunyakaa himself is the main character in the poem, it seems his face is sort of like a reflection in the dark granite that he is facing. Then he goes to state that he wouldn’t cry, but it seems he is very emotional about something. “I’m stone. I’m flesh” (Line 5) maybe saying he feels that he’s strong and manly, but he is feeling weak because he is crying, mentioning he’s flesh because after all he is human and humans have emotions that you sometimes can’t really control. It seems he is very aware of these feelings. It seems his only way out is to turn away from the wall, I think maybe he is trapped somewhere surrounded by these granite walls he seems to be facing and I do not think he can escape them.

A monument is an solid, carved in statue that is an representation of a person or event that has made an remarkable time in the past. However, there are many different ways to remember a person or event. Memorializing an person or event is a great way to preserve history; because everyone agrees to enormous expensive statue is more entertaining than reading a boring textbook about the person or event. As a matter of fact, every person in American can not remember every person or event in history because there isn’t enough time and space for that. Therefore, a group or agency should consider the three main factors, size, location, and materials when planning or creating an memorial monument of an important person or event.

The Korean War Veterans Memorial is a monument that stood out the most to me while visiting Washington D.C with my fellow nursing students. Residing on the National Mall, southeast of the Lincoln Memorial and south of the Reflecting Pool, the Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated to the 5.8 million Americans that served and sacrificed in the Korean War. During its relatively short duration from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953, 36,374 Americans died in battle at the Korean War theater. In addition, 103, 284 were wounded during the conflict. The Korean War is noted as one of the most hard fought battle in our history. The U.S Congress approved the construction of the Korean War Veterans Memorial in 1985. It then broke ground on June 14, 1992 and on July 27,1995, The Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated. Cooper-Lecky Architects were responsible for the design of the memorial, as they oversaw collaboration between several designers. The most notable of these designers was Frank Gaylord, who is known for being responsible of the 19 stainless steel statues one can see in the park at any time of day.

My grandfather, Ellie Price, served in the 841st Engineering Aviation Battalion that was stationed near Kunsan, South Korea in 1954. He was assigned the job of light vehicle mechanic and heavy machinery operator. He spent most of his time during the day improving the condition of the North/South runway while guarding it at night. My grandfather’s service in the Special Category of Army with Air Force (SCARWAF) division has always been a highlight of my family’s history. His willingness to leave America to defend a completely foreign country is a quality that I admire and hope to have myself.

The United States geared up for a war against communism. Not more than a day after Seoul fell, the US had officially entered the war and had ground troops committed, an action backed by the U.N. At the beginning of the war the U.S. soldiers had little combat experience and they were in a foreign land. This was the reason for the mass casualties sustained by the U.S. “US Army casualties from June 25 through July 31, 1950 totaled 6,003: 1,884 Killed In Action, 2,695 Wounded In Action, 523 Missing In Action and 901 reported captured. Of these more than half were from the 24th Infantry Division- 3,610.”( Evanhoe, Ed. "The Korean War." The Korean War. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://www.korean-war.com>.)

First artwork is the Vietnam War Memorial in 1982, designed by May Lin. What I see in this picture is that it looks like a park area is created having a lot of fresh green grass and long trees. It also have very elongated walls. The walls are made from mirror-like surfaces that reflects the images of the surrounding trees, monuments and people. As it is a Vietnam War memorial place, I observe that people staring at the walls depicts that the walls have something related about the Vietnam War. It can have written description about the specific people participating in the Vietnam War. It’s like a long granite wall inscribed with the names of all those men and women that sacrificed their lives during this war. I also see how these mirror like

The Korean War was an influential event that started in 1950 and caused a lot of controversy among Americans and Koreans. The war was caused by the US trying to preserve the Democratic side of Korea, the south side. The Koreans were not happy, however, and the Viet Kong and North Korean soldiers fought tooth and nail to get the Americans out of the country. There was eventually an end to the war of course but not without lots of casualties on both sides and a hostile environment around the border of the two countries.