Maya Ying Lin, the designer of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial was quoted as saying, "The names would become the memorial."

On the wall of the Memorial are more than 58,000 names of Americans who died or remained missing from the war, listed in chronological order of date of the casualty.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built to honor the veterans of the Vietnam war (1959-1976). As a memorial for a controversial and unpopular war, it was intended both to commemorate those who served, as well as provide a vehicle for a process of national reconciliation. Simple and austere, yet compelling and evocative, a visit to the memorial has become one of the most popular and moving experiences of the nation's capital.

In 1979 the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Fund was incorporated for the purpose of establishing a memorial. Jan Scruggs, who had served in Vietnam, lead the effort and over $7 million dollars was raised entirely through private contributions. In 1980, Congress authorized a site in Constitution Gardens near the Lincoln Memorial, for the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial.

An open competition was held for the design and 1,421 entries were submitted. The unanimous selection was by Maya Ying Lin, then a 21 year old student at the Yale School of Architecture. Lin's design consisted of two long, triangular black walls, the vertex of the walls formed an obtuse angle, with one wall pointing to the Lincoln Memorial and one wall pointing to the Washington Monument.

Each wall is 246 feet in length, which meet at an angle of 125 degrees. Each of the walls consists of 74 vertical panels of highly polished granite sloping slightly from a center height of 10 feet.

A realistic sculpture of three soldiers sits at one end of the Memorial, the soldiers appearing to contemplate the wall. There is a 60 foot flagpole, that, along with the soldiers, serves as an entrance to the Memorial. At the other end of the Memorial is a second sculpture honoring the women who served in Vietnam.

Medium : Measured drawing

Created/Published : 1995

Creator : Historic American Buildings Survey

Frame : Black, gloss, metal, Size : 23 5/8 x 29 7/8

Part of the Historic American Building Survey (HABS) Collection housed in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress

Price: $130.00

Availability: Usually ships in one week

Product #: FR0091