"[The Wall is] a rift in the earth- a long, polished black stone wall, emerging from and receding into the earth. The memorial is a moving composition to be understood as one moves into and out of it; the passage itself is gradual, the descent to the origin slow, but it is at the origin that the meaning of the memorial is to be fully understood."
-Maya Ying Lin

 

The Vietnam Memorial is a powerful monument to those who died in a war that divided a country and was the longest in our nation's history. It is made of two black granite 246 3/4 foot long walls angled at 125 degrees. One points to the Washington Monument, the other to the Lincoln Memorial. It was designed by then Yale undergraduate Maya Ying Lin and was erected in 1982. She beat out 1400 other entries in the design contest.

The names of the 58,000+ killed during the war are listed in chronological order from 1959-1975. Many items are left at the wall in honor of friends, loved ones and comrades whose names are inscribed.



A far view of the Wall


The Washington Monument reflected in the Wall


A wreath placed at the wall