Page 87 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Washington, DC

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o Vietnam Veterans poems, pictures, and flowers –
Memorial at the site of their fallen
soldier’s name.
22nd St & Constitution Ave, NW. To mollify those opposed to
Map 2 E4. Tel (202) 426-6841.
q Smithsonian. Open 24 hours daily. the abstract memorial, a statue
7 ∑ nps.gov/vive of three soldiers, sculpted by
Frederick Hart, was added in
Maya Lin, a 21-year-old student 1984. Further lobbying led to
at Yale University, submitted a the Vietnam Women’s Memorial,
design for the proposed Vietnam erected close by in 1993.
Veterans Memorial as part of her
architecture course. One of 1,421 p Korean War
entries, Maya Lin’s design was
simple – two triangular black Veterans Memorial
walls sinking into the earth at 10 Daniel French Drive, SW.
an angle of 125 degrees, one Map 2 E5. Tel (202) 426-6841.
end pointing to the Lincoln q Smithsonian, Foggy Bottom. Names on the wall at the Vietnam
Memorial, the other to the Open 24 hours daily. 7 Veterans Memorial
Washington Monument. On ∑ nps.gov/kwvm
the walls would be inscribed towards the American flag as
the names of more than 58,000 The Korean War Veterans their symbolic objective. Their
Americans who died in the Memorial is a contro versial ponchos are a reminder of the
Vietnam War, in chronological tribute to a controversial war. war’s notoriously miserable
order, from the first in 1959 Although 1.5 million weather conditions. On the
to the last in 1975. Since Americans served in the south side is a polished black
the names are not in conflict, war was never granite wall etched with the
alphabetical order, officially declared. It is images of more than 2,400
there is a book listing often known as “The veterans. An inscription above
all the names that Forgotten War.” Intense the Pool of Remembrance
correspond to debate preceded reads: “Our nation honors
a panel. the selection of her sons and daughters who
Lin received only the memorial’s answered the call to defend a
a B grade on the design. On July country they never knew and
course, but she 27, 1995, the a people they never met.”
won the competi- The Vietnam 42nd anniversary
tion. Her design has Women’s Memorial of the armistice that a Martin Luther
become one of the ended the war, the
most moving monuments memorial was dedicated. King, Jr. Memorial
on the Mall. Veterans and Nineteen larger-than-life 1850 West Basin Drive, SW.
their families leave tokens of stainless steel statues, a squad Map 2 E5. Tel (202) 426-6841.
remembrance – soft toys, on patrol, are depicted moving q Smithsonian, Foggy Bottom.
Open 24 hours daily. 7
∑ nps.gov/mlkm
Set among the famous cherry
blossom trees of the Tidal
Basin is the Martin Luther
King, Jr. Memorial. The Mall’s
first memorial to an African-
American, dedicated on August
26, 2011, commemorates the
life and work of Dr. King.
Designed by Chinese sculptor
Lei Yixin, the memorial consists
of two massive stone tablets –
one features excerpts from
King’s speeches, while the
other shows the figure of
Martin Luther King emerging
from the stone. The choice
of a non-American sculptor
for this work proved contro-
versial, as did King’s somewhat
The poignant statues of the Korean War Veterans Memorial stern expression.

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