Vietnam Wall Dedicates: Healing After a March of Thousands
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on November 13, 1982, after a week of events that drew 150,000 people to the National Mall. The memorial's design, two walls of polished black granite inscribed with the names of 58,318 Americans killed or missing in Vietnam, had been selected from 1,421 entries in a blind competition. The winner was Maya Lin, a 21-year-old Yale architecture student. Her design was controversial: critics called it a 'black gash of shame.' Veteran Jan Scruggs, who had conceived the memorial, brokered a compromise by adding a figurative sculpture and flagpole nearby. Once built, the wall's power was undeniable. Visitors touch names, leave letters, flowers, and personal items. The wall became the most visited memorial in Washington, healing a nation that had argued about Vietnam for two decades.
November 13, 1982
44 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on November 13
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