It is Memorial Day, when we honor the service and memory of soldiers that gave their lives in wars fought for the United States.
May of 1968, 50 years ago, would turn out to be the bloodiest month, of the bloodiest year, for American soldiers in Vietnam. As 1968 drew to a close, public opinion in the United States turned against the war.
An original sketch by the designer of the proposed Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Maya Lin, 21-year-old Yale architecture student, in 1981. (Photo of the artwork by Victor R. Boswell Jr./National Geographic/Getty Images). From the instructions for the design competition: ‘Finally, we wish to repeat that the memorial is not to be a political statement, and that its purpose is to honor the service and memory of the war’s dead, its missing, and its veterans—not the war itself. The memorial should be conciliatory, transcending the tragedy of the war’.
