I just found out that there are two half sized Viet Nam Memorials that travel around the country. One of them is now in Malden, MA until June 10th. Here is a link about it.
This is a “miniature” (half sized) of the original Viet Nam Memorial in Washington, D.C. that was designed by Maya Lin.
This is a remarkable monument and deserves to be seen by everyone. I’m glad to know that there are two copies that travel around giving even more people an opportunity to view it. It is remarkable because it is based on memorializing the individual soldiers, specifically those who died, rather than honoring some general on a horse or in full regalia. This monument honors those that deserve to be honored. And the way that it honors them is most effective. One cannot help but be struck dumb when in the presence of this memorial.
But I would still like a memorial to do more. The reason why people are against the war is not just because of the deaths, but of the price of war. Not the price in American dollars just as not the price in American servicemen. For every dead serviceman (or servicewoman) there are many more that are harmed in some way – emotionally, financially, etc. How many dead servicepeople had a bereft spouse? How many children will no longer have a father or mother? How many parents saw their child die before their own death? How many people lost a good friend? These harms should be considered in the cost of war.
And the cost to the victims (I will not call them the enemy because most of them were not enemies) on the other side? Such as in the Iraq war. Over 100,000 died because of our “shock and awe” bombs. These people were not our enemies. And of their deaths, how many widows were created? Or widowers? Or parents? Or children?
And what about the social cost of war? How many people lost their jobs and could no longer afford to provide for their family? How many people lost their belongings in a devastated society with no means to replace them? How many people lost all hope for their future?
More than the dead should be memorialized regarding a war. All of the harm that is caused all of the victims should be memorialized as well. But where is such a memorial but in the poetry of poets like Walt Whitman and others?
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