Thoughts on 9/11 Memorial and Vietnam War Memorial

It was my first time visiting the Vietnam and 9/11 memorial. These memorials depressed me when I first stepped in. Both were very touching and made me understand the fraction of the pain the family gone through.

The person who designed the Vietnam memorial did a fantastic job because he/she made the event more real with real letters and quotes. There is one letter about a soldier who knew he was going to die and did not want to tell his mother. His only wish was to be able to tell his mother person to person. That was really touching and I felt so sorry for the person and the family. The simplicity and the colors of the memorial provoke a calm feeling. There was a recently added fountain, which adds to the calm feeling. I found the letters hard to read figuratively and literally because the letters provokes a feeling that people do not enjoy, and literally because the words are basically the same color as the background. It is also cool that the block wall glows.

Similarly the person who designed the 9/11 memorial did a fantastic job because it makes the viewers think. There were two enormous towers before and now there are two large holes. The waterfall is beautiful and the design is very simple. There is only one color black, which tells the viewers that this memorial is not supposed to be showy. The memorial was very organized and the victims were honored well. Like the Vietnam memorial, the waterfalls made the environment very calm and sad in a way. The yellow flowers on some of the names add to the depressed mood that some people have. The survivor tree made me feel sorrier for the victims and the family because I imagine myself in their shoes looking at that tree every day while walking to work.