Historical Site

The area I am interested in researching for my final project is the Vietnam Memorial.

Three historical topics of interest are as follows:

1. The actual design of the memorial. The design was submitted by Maya Lin a Yale student at the time and I am interested to know what made her design so controversial. ~Why did she say that her racial background had something to do with the committee picking her design. INTERESTING: The design by Maya Lin is not commemorating the war instead when visiting the memorial one gets a somber feeling.(things I want to find out) Was this the original goal of the design? How did the  public react to this? Was it on purpose that an Asian American was the winner?
2. The lack of political support. Why didn’t Pres. Reagan show up to the dedication ceremony? INTERESTING: It is known that the Vietnam War was a war that faced much opposition from the public, but why was the government so opposed to supporting it? Why didn’t Reagan show up to the dedication ceremony? What were some of the implications to arise from this controversial move?
3. The women’s memorial- that is with in the Vietnam Memorial~why was the original design so controversial? (Vietnamese baby). INTERESTING: A women’s memorial was later added. I want to know why it was added? I also want to find out why was the first design rejected?