Today in History: The Vietnam Veterans' Memorial opens, 1982 (United States)

The idea came to serviceman Jan Scruggs in 1979. Scruggs served in Vietnam and was wounded twice. He returned to the U.S. and studied psychology, with a deep interest in post traumatic stress disorder. The inspiration for the wall came from his desire to remember those who served and heal the nation that lost so many. He put $2,800 of his own money toward the wall.

 “The memorial had several purposes,” he explained in an interview with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. “It would help veterans heal. Its mere existence would be societal recognition that their sacrifices were honorable rather than dishonorable. Veterans needed this, and so did the nation. Our country needed something symbolic to help heal our wounds.”

 [snip]

 The winning design was submitted by 21-year-old Yale undergrad Maya Ying Lin. She entered the contest as part of her funeral architecture class—though her professor gave her a B on the design in class. Imagine her surprise when her design was chosen—over her professor’s who also entered the contest—and was awarded $20,000.

 [snip]

However, the initial public response to the design was one of outrage. Citizens found the black granite to be symbolic of a trench or tombstone—a black mark on America’s history. Some drew parallels with the V-shape to mean the controversial “peace symbol.”
Backlash was so strong against Ling’s original design that a flagpole and the Three Servicemen Statue were added to the memorial grounds, though away from the wall to preserve her design aesthetic. In 1993, the Vietnam Women’s Memorial was also added to the grounds.
The Wall was dedicated on November 13, 1982, when public outcry had largely diminished. At this time, there were 57,939 names on the wall. Eight of those names represent female nurses. Since the dedication, more names have been added. In 2017, the count was 58,318. In its history, the entirety of the names have been read seven times. The readings take place over Veterans day and it takes more than 65 hours spread over four days to complete.

https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/articles/the-story-behind-the-vietnam-veterans-memorial/

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