New York Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Photographer: John Romanski
Exhibit Title: New York Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Location: United States
The New York Vietnam Veterans Memorial is located in lower Manhattan, New York City. The main entrance area is at Water Street to South Street . This memorial was originally built in the early 1980's .
Translucent glass blocks form the wall. The wall contains engraved excerpts of diary entries, letters and poems written by men and women of the military.
In 2001 this site received a $7 million restoration. A new round black granite fountain and an etched stainless-steel map detailing battle zones in South Vietnam were added to the memorial site.
Twelve polished granite pylons were also situated on the site which lists the names of the 1,741 military personnel from New York who died as a result of their service in Vietnam.
This memorial site is officially known as Vietnam Veterans Plaza.
Vietnam Veterans Plaza is a place where Vietnam veterans and anyone else gather to commemorate that war. Certain holidays bring out more people to this memorial. It is unfortunate that there are people who prefer to forget about the Vietnam War and its residue on the American psyche.
Vietnam vets meet to reminisce and catch up on each others lives. On holidays like Memorial Day or Veterans Day people might think of this as some sort of a reunion. You can see vets talking and laughing like anyone else.
What we don't see are the emotional wounds and scars that they brought back from Vietnam. Many veterans of all wars have suffered emotional trauma. In addition to these invisible wounds of war, veterans are also suffering from what is now being recognized as moral injury. When placed in a warfare situation many soldiers have their moral value system compromised. This creates another type of invisible wound for veterans.
Memorials are important in our culture. They can be a starting point to help heal emotional injury. We elect government officials who decide the deployment of our troops. But it is our tax dollars that train and equip them for war. As citizens we share responsibility in this matter. People need to take a more serious look at how we can help all of our veterans.
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