The Vietnam Wall Drawings, Maya Lin

It is false to talk of peace
While possessing weapons
Destined to take life.
When we talk of peace,
We must lay down all
Murderous tools.

Nichidatsu Fujii

Grade Level 3
Art • Language Arts • Social Studies

The Vietnam War was America's longest war, fought from 1959 to 1975, a total of sixteen years. Three million American GI's went to war. Many never came home: over 58,000 men and women were killed or remain missing. By 1973, the war was destined to become a bitter memory as the American public's support diminished and troops were withdrawn. In 1980, former Army rifleman Jan Scruggs, was inspired to commemorate the lives of so many Americans lost. He proposed a monument to fallen Vietnam Veterans. With the support from then President Jimmy Carter, land between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial in the nation's capital was designated as a site for the new Vietnam Veterans Memorial. A design competition brought more than 1,400 proposals for the new memorial, and in 1981, the "the Wall" design by Maya Lin was chosen.

Maya Lin Online

The Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall

Beyond the Wall Lesson Plan