Chris Kyle Memorials: The Vietnam War Memorial

In the article “I Detest Our Confederate Monuments. But They Should Remain”, by Lawrence Kuznar, an anthropologist writes about the Confederate Monuments and why they should remain. Kuznar believes by removing the monuments, it makes no difference. Regardless of whether history is favorable or not, the monuments exist in places that are designed to celebrate their subjects. These statues and monuments have no place in town squares, city parks or any other public place beyond battlefields, private property or out of view from the public.

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

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

In 1861 there was a war that turned north against south family against family. After their war the created monuments that represent the brave leaders that fought for what the believe in. Now there is controversy over if the monuments should be destroyed. This has created a titanic fight between tow sides one side is for the monuments being destroyed and the other side dose not want it to be destroyed. I believe that the monuments should not be destroyed. I believe they should not be destroyed because we need to remember our history. Finally is that it will not stop the violence.

It was not Washington D.C.’s tragedy, so no credit can be given to them even if a monument is placed there. Making sure the monument is actually important to the area it is in should be the first step in building one. Why put something that is supposed to mean something somewhere with no real importance to that area? Secondly, when building monuments, the size must be considered for it to be interpreted in the right light. You simply cannot have a monument that is too large or too small, it must be done in a way that conveys the meaning and fits the space.

Look at all the memorials in Washington, D.C. You can see valiant, white memorials with heroic individuals triumphing on top of black foundations but there is one exception. The proposed Vietnam Veteran Memorial. The Vietnam Veteran Memorial is anti-heroic. The memorial has nothing relating to the war fought. Additionally, the judging panel that chose the memorial design had no Vietnam veterans and didn’t know enough of the war.

Until now there was no memorial or anything to mark the mass graves of those who lost their lives. If you’ve been watching the news you may have seen that the memorial site is finally finished. “Plans for the memorial at Proctor’s Ledge began a year and a half ago, and included several meetings with descendants and neighbors to the present-day site. The memorial was designed to be a point of reflection for descendants of the victims rather than a tourist draw” (325th Anniversary). And most of the descendant think that it was long overdue and that it may shed some light on a dark time in U.S.

Iwo Jima is the most important memorial to me because it represents the turning point for America in World War II when we finally started taking charge over the Japanese. Iwo Jima was an amazingly fought battle where the Americans lost 26,000 marines, but the Japanese only lost 22,000 of their men. Yet, we still won. It was an incredible victory for us. It is the only battle the marines won with their own casualties exceeding the enemies casualties.

The Veterans Freedom Flag Memorial, near Joint Systems Manufacturing Center, is a memorial dedicated in 2007, to everyone who has fought, died and sacrificed for the safety and freedom of our country. War memorials are important things because they honor the lives and sacrifices of those who have protected freedom for hundreds of years. They serve as sentimental representations and/or reminders for some. Pathways into the emotional and physical pain that so many deal with everyday. In short they are important things to have in our society.

Source A (Savage) states that memorials are important to some people of our nation. For example, in Source A (Savage), the author states that "In this way the monumental core in Washington functions somewhat like a pilgrimage site, where communities of believers actually come together in the act of occupying a holy site, seeing a relic, reenacting a sacred event" (Kirk Savage). Some people go to the memorials in Washington D.C. to get a sense of how important that person was.

Many well known memorials, such as the Vietnam Memorial, were put up right after the event, and they were made to honor those who fought, and to help start the healing process. However, according to the article “How The U.S. Got So Many Confederate Monuments” by Becky Little, she writes that in the US, “most of these (700 some Confederate) monuments did not go up immediately after the war’s end in 1865,” and that ‘“The vast majority of (Confederate monuments) were built between the 1890s and 1950s, which matches up exactly with the era of Jim Crow segregation.” According to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s research, the biggest spike was between 1900 and the 1920s.’ If most of the monuments were put up over 30 years after the Civil War, were they really put up for the right

I feel like the tomb of the unknown soldier is important because it honors the men and women who served for this country that are only known to only but God. We should recognize the sacrifice that they made, these men and women risked their lives to protect this country and keep it

Even so, forgetfulness is not the total issue. People are now taking our history out of context because it is not what they want to hear. Many of the memorials honor Confederate leaders and soldiers without any mention on slavery, yet people do not know the truth. Humans are blind because of their ignorance. “Confederate symbols were at once works of art, affirmation of the Lost Cause and tributes to white Southerners,” (“Monumental Battle” 8). Many generations of today do not know the truth of the statues and what they stand for. The statues can be used for educational purposes if they are allowed to speak but that is decided by the people.

The first factor that should be considered when building a monument, is the reason for the monument to be built. As stated before, there are some monuments that were built for a good reasons, others for horrific events. Though there are too many good memorializations to mention, the amount of bad memorializations are fewer. An example of one of those monuments is the Savannah Memorial Park from Source D. Graveyards are good places to have, because you can have a nice place to go visit those who are no longer with you. However, it is a memorial that was built for a very sad reason. Many people have died in order to make this a memorial, and there will be many more to come.

When building a monument there has to be general consensus that the event or person being memorialized is worthy of being honored and memorialized. It is difficult to come to an agreement about what should and should not be memorialized because every person and event has the other side who creates the controversy. So what makes an event or monument worth of creating a statue or monument out of it? We use monuments to remember and honor. There has been a lot of controversy about the removal of Confederate monuments around the United States and in a speech that Trump made about the Confederate monuments he asked the question, “Where will it