America Vietnam Memorial Essay

The living legacy of the United States Civil War is a complicated time in American history one finds difficult to describe. The ramification of the war prior, during and after still haunt the current citizens who call The States their home. Tony Horwitz’s book Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War looks at the wide gap of discontent that still looms in the late 1990s. For some southerners, the Confederacy still lives on through reenactments, stories and beliefs. For others in the South, reminders the land was dedicated to the Confederacy spark hatred and spite.

The 8th grade class took a 4 day trip to Washington. We did many things to explore Washington D.C. including visiting monuments. Some people think differently of how a monument should be made. Good monuments to some people could be to make people remember about the person or thing being remembered or to just reflect the person’s life or importance. In “The Follower Problem” by David Brooks, David thinks a good monument should show power and authority.

A Congressional Act approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday: "a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day'. World War I started because on June 28, 1914, a young Serbian nationalist named Gavrilo Princip killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Taking place against a backdrop of escalating tensions in the Balkans, the assassination set off a chain of events that would lead to the start of World War I barely one month later. To many people, the Great War seemed to come out of the blue, as the European continent was enjoying a long stretch of unique peace and prosperity.

The need to memorialize events or people is complex; in some cases, monuments honor moments of great achievement, while in other cases, monuments pay homage to deep sacrifice. A monument 's size, location, and materials are all considerations in planning and creating a memorial to the past. In any case, the need to honor or pay homage to a specific person or event is prevalent within society. A monument has to mean something to the society it is place in. The location of a monument is perhaps the most important aspect of creating a successful monument to honor and show respect to a person or event.

In the news today, a continual debate can be found about the significance of Confederate monuments and if they should remain or be removed. Confederate monuments that have been erected throughout the U.S. should be kept because of the preservation of America’s history. For instance, in the article, The Unbearable Lightness of Confederate-Statue Removal, the author lists how slaveholder monuments aren’t the only statues being vandalized, but the Lincoln Memorial and Mount Rushmore are other symbols of U.S. history that some believe need to “blow up” (Murdock). Every historical symbol can have both people who appreciate it and who oppose it. That doesn’t mean that we should tear down all symbols, but

Two years ago, Arlington National Cemetery, one of the nation’s oldest cemeteries, celebrated its sesquicentennial anniversary of substantial historical and moral significance. Founded after the American Civil War, the cemetery has been home to many of our fallen heroes, particularly those who have died during conflicts with American involvement and people of considerable national significance, such as presidents. The cemetery is one of extensive size and holds many monuments to memorialize the fallen. Arlington National Cemetery, a symbol of American patriotism, is the location of final rest for those who died during or after their call to arms or have achieved great importance in our nation; the cemetery’s historical, moral, and national

In our modern culture we memorialize a lot of things. Things like the achievements of great thinkers from the past such as Martin Luther King Jr. and the founding fathers. Other things that we memorialize are the wars that we have fought in the past, honoring those that fought in them. All of the previously mentioned things are put on a wall, given their own special place, or they have a statue made of them. These things are great and they show that those people did a great thing in their life but let’s be honest, we need to cut it back a little bit.

With a saunter around the National Mall, revere the neoclassical Lincoln Memorial, with a staggering (175 ton pound) statue of Abraham Lincoln swirled by his words of the Gettysburg Speech, the marvelous marble, granite and blue stone Washington Memorial, the Rome-esque memorial of Thomas Jefferson, and more… 2.) Arlington, VA’s cemetery Witness an official ceremony of Veteran’s Day at the Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington, VA’s cemetery, where John F. Kennedy spoke eleven days before his assassination, and his body later returned to. Savor a moment reflecting on the tomb of the “Unknown Soldier” from World War I, and admire a sophisticated switching of the guard on the dot of every hour. 3.)

Someone once said, “ Mr. Brady has done something to bring home to us the terrible reality and earnestness [sic] of war. If he has not brought bodies and laid them in our dooryards and along streets, he has done something very like it," ("Matthew Brady Photographer."). The photos showed truth and reality about war. It took away any fantasies about it. Many people would go and see the art galleries.

This emphasis on healing is important because it creates the idea that the Wall is a symbol for healing. By representing mending the Monument comforts those who lost people in the war and closes their metaphorical wounds by giving them some closure about their fallen loved ones. By being a symbol of healing the Wall expresses the large amount of lives lost in the

However, these monuments are history and although they may not be suitable for a public place nowadays, they are sure a great piece of history for a museum. These monuments are part of all that is left from a certain period in our history. Even though the Confederate period, for example, is not the period of the United States that many are proud of it still happened and it is still history. These monuments should be saved for the sake of knowing about the past, not for personal gain. Some monuments can stay in public for everyone to see.

I believe that Confederate monuments should be used as educational opportunities. Younger people can see Confederate monuments and learn from the mistakes of earlier generations. On Memorial Day in 1884, Oliver Holmes Jr. (former Union Veteran) stated. “I believe that our memorial halls, statues, and tablets, the tattered flags of our regiments gathered in the State Houses, are worth more to our younger men by way of inspiration than the monuments of another hundred years of peaceful life could exist”(Federalist 8/18/17). Learning from the shortcomings of others can benefit others in the pursuit of peaceful living.

Many public events were associated with warfare. The Bonampak murals depicted scenes of presentation of war captives, captive sacrifice and a latter dance at a plaza (Houston 2012: 157). Although the mural did not specifically depict audience, archaeologists believed that a large audiences witnessed such event. Warfare was a powerful public event that connected the people of the community. No matter how many inside conflicts they encountered, people could always reach a common ground in opposite to their enemies.

The Vietnam War is a hot topic, should there be war or not? Lyndon B. Johnson says yes to war and Martin Luther King says no to war. In “Speech of Vietnam” by L.B.J. he is saying why it is best to go to the Vietnam War. While in “Beyond Vietnam” by M.L.K. he is saying why it is not necessary to go to to war. The Vietnam War is what is best for America and for other the nations.

Literary analysis America’s war heroes all have the same stories to tell but different tales. Prescribed with the same coloring page to fill in, and use their methods and colors to bring the image to life. This is the writing style and tactic used by Tim O’Brien in his novel, “The Things They Carried”. Steven Kaplan’s short story criticism, The Undying Certainty of the Narrator in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, provides the audience with an understanding of O’Brien’s techniques used to share “true war” stories of the Vietnam War. Kaplan explains the multitude of stories shared in each of the individual characters, narration and concepts derived from their personal experiences while serving active combat duty during the Vietnam War,