Vietnam Memorial

Vietnam Memorial

The Vietnam Memorial is full of controversy. One huge issue standing is the fact that it is not a traditional memorial. People think its lacking glorified images of war and patriotic inscriptions. For some reason or another people seem to think that in order for there to be a memorial, there needs to be statues of soldiers and other symbolic war things. I think this memorial is really cool in a sense that it is not like every other war memorial out there. It stands out and makes it memorable.
Another issue is the fact that Maya Lin, the architect, is Asian-American. Lin’s design was selected in a contest that required blind judging. It’s not like the judges intentionally or unintentionally chose her because of her race. But either way, Maya Lin is an American. Her ancestors may have come from Asia, but she was born in Athens, Ohio. She has every right to make a war memorial for our country, which she is very much a part of. America is the Melting Pot of the World. There is no one single race by which people see the United States. And we, as a country and “The Melting Pot” should look beyond race.
The actual design has held many controversies in itself.   One being that it is not enough to honor these veterans. So many people felt this way so they added the Three Soldiers Statue and the Vietnam Women’s Memorial. And oddly enough the additions made quite uproar too. I don’t see why people felt the need to change the memorial or even add anything to it. If Maya Lin had intended for there to be a bronze statue of the soldiers and a woman’s memorial, I personally believe that she would have added them to her design.