Category — Architecture/Place/Memorial

The trip to the 9/11 Memorial was absolutely phenomenal. I, in my 12 years since the events had never been to that memorial and it is truly breathtaking, for lack of a better word, it catches you off guard and floods you with emotion when you see it. The memorial is comprised of 2 gigantic square fountains that pour water into a seemingly endless abyss whose bottom is impossible to see, unless you could fly or hover. The memorials are massive because they sit where the twin towers stood, which add a lot to the effect of the memorial.

When I realized that the fountains were in place of the actual twin towers, I began feel fear. I felt what I assume to be the fear that people may have felt on that day because I was standing inches away from where these massive buildings collapsed. To think of how people must’ve run and and panicked when the towers fell, I can’t fully comprehend what they must’ve been feeling in those moments. Each of the fountains at the memorial have names inscribed on the metal plate around the fountain, one has the names of the citizens who passed away in the attacks and that was very saddening to see, but also hopeful, knowing that they wouldn’t be forgotten. The other has the names of the firefighters, policemen, and all others who helped during the attacks but eventually perished. After seeing this I felt happy to know that these people did their best to help anyone they could in any way they could, those people were heroes. Another big aspect of the memorial was the combination of the sight of the water rushing down, and the sound of it. As you stood in front of either of the fountains, the sound of the water was dominating and soon I found that I could barely hear anything besides the sound of the falling water. Seeing this enhanced the effect because you could see and feel the gravity of what happened here, it was serious and you feel that completely and totally. It was an outstanding experience to see the memorial, truly amazing.

The Vietnam Memorial on the other hand, had a very small effect on me. Though this memorial had personal letters from soldiers and was overall more personal, it wasn’t well kept, it was run down and seemingly abandoned. This was disheartening but it was the truth. I didn’t have a big reaction to it because I had just seen the 9/11 memorial which I think was better. Another reason it didn’t have much of an effect on me was because I wasn’t alive for the war so even though I know it was serious and very controversial, I can’t connect to it in the same way I could to the 9/1 memorial. It didn’t move me in a big way, though it it sad that it’s been abandoned

As much as I enjoy art, it took a visit to the 9/11 and Vietnam War Memorials to solidify my understanding of how memorials are an art form. I still love observing oil on canvas, a tapestry here and there, and ideal beauty carved in stone, but I had rarely been moved as greatly as I was on our visit to these memorials. I was alive for 9/11, but not yet an idea during the Vietnam war, and although I witnessed the second plane hit the tower from a television set in San Diego, I had more of an emotional response when we visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Yes, a name may be how we identify people at the most basic level, but reading the letters written to and from soldiers allowed me to better connect with conflict in which they were engaged.

The sheer magnitude of the waterfalls was humbling; the center of each – where the water fell out of sight –  was symbolic, and in fact, each stage the water went through on its way through the cycle represented each stage of that terrible day. I had no desire to speak. It was as though some greater force kept my mouth shut. I had no urge to fight back. But reading the letters of the American soldiers in Vietnam awakened an entire world of thought in me. The phrases “Dear mom” of “Dear son” or “Dear [the soldier’s name]” forced my to reflect deeply on how much I value the people who love and care for me unconditionally, so much so that began to tear up. (You might say I’m a momma’s boy, and you’d be right). Lastly, the circumstances surrounding the two conflicts being remembered differ; every person was in some way innocent in each conflict, but the knowledge of death in the minds of the Americans fighting in Vietnam was clear, and the days events were entirely unknown to the victims of the terrorist attacks. Somehow, the unfamiliarity of the unknown realm that is death and love for my family and beloved friends was more strongly affected.

I am fortunate not to have lost any friends or family in the 9/11 attacks, and all my heart goes out to those who did. The events of 9/11/01 are still fresh in the minds of the many, but the quiet and firm essence of the Vietnam War memorial showed me that the terror of the past may fade, but will never disappear; it’s silhouette will forever stand behind us as we look forward.

The water’s roar hushes the buslte of the city

rendering it a whisper.

The engraved letters mummify the soldier’s voices

lending silence to the city’s seasons.

Each blankets the city

as though the present is in infancy, whimpering,

and the past echoes

n’er to be forgotten.

9/11 is one of the most vivid memories of my childhood. It was my sixth birthday, and not only that, but I also lived and went to school within walking distance from the towers. Every day I woke up to the majestic sight of the twin towers outside of my window and often would go to the stores in the towers. (I especially remember the Discovery store and the Krispy Kreme that I loved.) I remember the moment the first plane hit–I was in school, and we were doing “silent reading.” We heard a tremendous crash and everyone ran to the window to see what happened. We couldn’t see anything because our room faced in the opposite direction. We all assumed it was something related to construction, until we heard over the loud speaker that there had been “an accident at the World Trade Center” and that we must all move to the south west area of the building. Soon enough, parents started picking up their children. I remember my parents picking me up and the three of us ran to Chelsea to pick up my brother from his school. I remember having to wear face masks and practically being chased down the street by enormous clouds of dust and smoke. I didn’t see the second plane hit, but I just remember turning the corner as we got to Chelsea Piers and watching the second tower as it fell.

We were all in complete shock. I remember sitting in a cafe with my parents right after, eating a bagel and watching the news silently. “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John was playing on the radio. We all knew that things would never be the same after that. Even at my young age, seeing the towers fall and knowing I couldn’t go home and seeing people falling from windows, I knew that this was a big deal. I remember feeling so angry and confused as to why someone would do this to my home, my neighborhood. I was so shocked that someone would kill all these people and cause such massive destruction.

I had never been to the 9/11 memorial before we went on Thursday. Although I had lived in that neighborhood from my childhood up until the end of this summer, and walked past it every single day, for some reason I never had any interest in visiting it. I think I avoided it for so long because I knew it would bring back really painful memories. I was kind of afraid of visiting it, because I knew it would be extremely emotional. However once I actually went inside and looked closely at the waterfalls and all the names, I found the memorial to be a beautiful way of remembering those lost on that day. Although I have my suspicions and mixed feelings about the truth behind the 9/11 attacks (but that’s a whole other story…), I thought the 9/11 memorial was amazing. The white noise of the water, the way that it seemed like the pits went on forever, the white roses placed on the names of those whose birthday it was…it was all quite overwhelming. The fact that this was the exact spot where all of these people died made it feel very haunting and real. I found that I could connect with it on a very personal level because I used to walk on that same earth as a child, and I could remember so vividly all of the images of the burning towers on those exact spots.

The Vietnam Memorial was a somewhat different experience. This memorial is much more subtle, much more subdued. Not only that, but there are many Vietnam memorials and this one is clearly not one of the most famous or beautiful of them. Despite everything though, this memorial was still very emotional. Even though it wasn’t as flashy or spectacular as the 9/11 memorial, it felt very personal. Reading the stories of the soldiers and reading their letters gave it a shock of reality that wouldn’t have existed had there only been the names of those lost in the war. Although the memorial was sad, I must admit that I didn’t feel the same kind of relatable, personal sadness that I felt with the 9/11 memorial, which is probably because I actually experienced 9/11 on a firsthand level. I remember it vividly and I know people who were really affected by 9/11 even more than my family was. Also, 9/11 is still very prevalent in our society. People still talk about it a lot and relate it to what’s going on in the world today. Vietnam, although a tragic, pointlessly bloody war, was a much longer time ago and hasn’t affected people of our age as much as 9/11 did.

The 9/11 Memorial is definitely worth visiting and once the museum is open (planned for spring 2014) will probably be even more meaningful than it already is.
The last time I saw the area was in 2011 when I attended with school. While recovery was still taking place, I was very impressed by the transformation from that time and the respectful memorial and park area being developed. Just like the first time, it was just as breathtaking for me.

I’ve been to many memorials, but this is by far the most breathtaking beautiful one I’ve been to. By beautiful, I don’t just mean the way it looks, but what it represents. The memorial being the size of how the building was really puts it into perspective.

Regardless of the amount of names shown, it still felt just as personal to me. I kept noticing white flowers, and I found out it was placed because it was that persons birthday. It was very moving.

As Jonah said in class, the constant flow of water and its noise, may have represented the constant outcries and voices of the people who were lost. The first time I have been there, I haven’t noticed the tree that was standing opposite the memorial as we walked in. It was tied down and wrapped all around– keeping it in place.. and an observer told me that the reason this tree is being sacred is because it was the only tree that wasn’t diminished and destroyed during the time of 9/11.

Walking in, I felt a sense of happiness or…relief, at the way it was upheld. You were able to tell through the amount of security, how clean they kept it, and from the amount of people/tourists were there, that it was still something people held close to their hearts. It might be because I remember exactly where I was during 9/11, and during our lifetime, but I felt a connection. Looking at the new buildings being made, gave me a sense of pride but also mixed feelings. I was pleased to see that people wouldn’t let these terrorists stop us from building, but also nervous in the way that I wondered: Is this a replacement of what was? Do you think people will choose to go back, or will it be a possible danger, regardless of security? What is the significance of this new building?

I have never been to the Vietnam memorial. Upon arriving, I felt bad. While one may call it beauty, I find the beauty in the people who visit, and this memorial looked like the type to be ‘that the only people who come are the ones who have a personal connection to one of the soldiers’. It was in between two buildings, was dark, the water fountain didn’t work, located by a restaurant, but at the same time one may say that it being isolated and not so populated gave it a sense of peacefulness, being alone, not busy, closure or what not. The flowers I felt gave the ‘light’ and life there. What got to me was the ages of these soldiers. I’m 19, and it is startling trying to reflect what these men had to do. The letters written on the wall also made it very personal. Much of it was too difficult to read, but the pieces able to be made out really touched me.

I’ve never been to the Vietnam Memorial- yet alone, know that there was such a thing in NYC. When I told my friends that I went to the Vietnam Memorial- most responded with, “What? In the city? Where?… Oh that’s a memorial, I used to eat my lunch there.” It’s really sad to think that way. If someone in my family was involved anyway in the Vietnam War, I’d surely be pissed that no one knew there was even a memorial for them.

I’m not going to lie, when Renee and I showed up to the Vietnam Memorial, I was beyond disappointed. I didn’t even know that there was a memorial there!  The only thing that really gave it away were the couple of street signs that pointed to that little area between to buildings that read “Vietnam Memorial —>” So I walked down the little pathway, half expecting to see something like they have in Washington, and see some stones with names carved into them. Not very exciting at all. I was so upset that I missed 9/11 (even though I’ve been there before), waited an hour for everyone else (we got to the memorial while everyone was walking from 9/11 to there), only to look at the memorial that really was so uninviting. I was prepared to just go back home, because it was pretty disgraceful.

But then Renee and I went to look around me, because maybe we were missing something. And we came across the big thing in the middle with words on it. We had time to spare so we switched off reading every one of the letters that was engraved on the wall. It started to rain and we craned and bent our necks to decipher each word. Turns out, those letters from soldiers or families of soldiers, were very touching. It was crazy to think that these men were my age and were going to fight in the army and leaving behind their whole life. It was sad to read that they hated the war and didn’t know why they were fighting. It was hard to read the hope in their voices that they would be home soon. The letters were really heartfelt and made me think a lot of what life would be like if their was a draft and everyone had to leave to fight in a bloody war.

The thought was unpleasant. However, the thought of that being the memorial for such a thing was even more unpleasant. I mean, come on! This was a huge war that no one wanted to fight! America was basically fighting a third world county and they wouldn’t even win! Where was the huge memorial? Where was the endless waterfall? Where was the decipherable writing on the wall? To me that memorial was so shameful.

I’ve been to Israel many times and all over the State are beautiful memorials of wall the wars in which they fought. I don’t even have to go as far as Israel to make my point. Look at Washington DC- the grand memorials. Better yet- look at the 911 memorial! That’s a memorial! Something that everyone is aware of.

You could argue that 911 was something in our time, something recent, and that’s why the memorial is so grand and memorable. However, I bet in 60 years from now, that water will still be flowing endlessly, and that memorial will never fade. The same should be true about the Vietnam memorial- although it’s clearly not the case. If my grandfather had fought in the Vietnam War and all he got was a little section in the city that no one even knew existed, I’d be pretty upset.