Macaulay Seminar One at Brooklyn College

On 9/11/01 I was in first grade. I remember leaving the back exit of school and being rushed home with my father. The only other thing I can remember from that day is collecting pieces of burned paper and metal that traveled to my front yard from Ground Zero. I was living in a naïve child’s world. I didn’t understand anything until a few years later when I met people that lost loved ones in the crash.

When I went to visit the 9/11 Memorial last year with my senior class, we were each assigned the name of a victim to research so that we could all feel more personally connected to our surroundings. One by one, we all read several short lines for each victim that will forever be the legacy of those who perished in the brutal terrorist attack a few short years ago. The memorial’s vastness made me feel tiny and helpless in comparison. The rushing water drowned out my senses and all I could hear was static all around me. I remember feeling upset, confused, and overwhelmed.

Contrary to what I was expecting, I felt similar emotions when we visited the Vietnam Memorial last Thursday. Having no personal connection to Vietnam whatsoever, I thought all we would be seeing were some gruesome pictures and memorabilia from the war. I thought wrong.

At first, I didn’t even realize that I was in the memorial. I thought we were in a park and we had to find a pathway to get to the memorial. That’s when I noticed the big block wall that had hardly legible letters etched onto it. One by one, Viviane and I tried to read every letter on the wall. Some were sad, some were heartbreaking, some were gruesome, and some made me cringe. I rememeber feeling upset, confused, and overwhelmed, but for a whole different set of reasons than before.

I could hardly read most of the letters because they fell off of the wall and I got the sense that people didn’t care as much about what happened in Vietnam. Most people nowadays don’t personally connect to it, but I still believe that it should be viewed in a similar light to the 9/11 Memorial. After all, countless people died and in the end all that matters is that everyone and anyone who died for their country deserve to be remembered.

Since I have never been to either the 9/11 or Vietnam memorials, it was definitely a different experience than reading about it in the textbooks or hearing about it in the news. Both memorials allowed me to connect to the events on a deeper level, but each memorial was different to me.

The 9/11 memorial had a much larger impact. It could have been due to the fact that 9/11 occurred during my lifetime, but I think what really impacted me were the two waterfalls. They immediately caught my attention and I began to wonder why they made the memorial consist of these waterfalls within waterfalls. In addition, the amount of names along the waterfall edges showed me the true magnitude of 9/11.

The Vietnam memorial, on the other hand, was a different experience. Not only did the memorial have a wall filled with personal messages from those in the Vietnam War, it also had a different effect on me. It seemed more personal but also not as personal as the 9/11 memorial, because it did not have the names of all those in the Vietnam war, only a few. It seemed to give a narrower view of the Vietnam War because there were only a few messages to base an opinion about it. However, these personal messages did allow me to connect with those who were in the Vietnam War, more than names can.

Overall, I think both of these memorials had a very large and different impact on me. They are, in a way, a remembrance of those we’ve lost and their sacrifices.

This was my first time to the memorial and I had no idea what to expect. After a lot of walking to find the entrance and security checks I was allowed to walk in. I was blown away by how something so simple had such a powerful effect on me. The two waterfalls were located on the site of the original buildings. I thought that was very cool because it means that the buildings can never be replaced. Walking around both panels, I ran my hand against all the names and couldn’t believe that all these people died here. I always knew that it was a horrible event but I never really grasped the true horror of the day until I visited the memorial. I saw people standing there and crying while touching the name of a loved one…or just being there made them cry. The simplicity of the memorial is what blew me away. Something so simple, yet so powerful.

The sound of the waterfall can be heard any way you turn…like the sound of the people dying can always be heard. I really like the architecture behind the memorial. At first the water is just sitting there, like the people sitting in the plane or in their office. Then, out of no where the water falls in rushing speed like the planes hitting the towers and then it calms down again after the water hits the floor. Like Kwan said before, no matter what angel you looked at the black hole, you can’t see where it goes. It’s almost like you’re not supposed to know where the souls or people go after the destruction happened.

After the 9/11 memorial, the Vietnam memorial wasn’t as great for me. It was more personal than the other one, with personal letters from the soldiers. Personally, I believe it was less of an impact because I wasn’t alive for that, it didn’t happen during my time. I also feel like the 9/11 memorial will be like that for kids in the future generation in like 50-60 years. Of all the Macaulay trips we’ve had, this has been the best.

Today, we went to the 9/11 memorial and the Vietnam memorial. This is about my 5th time experiencing the 9/11 memorial but it was my first time at the Vietnam memorial. The 9/11 experience was no different than all the others I had experienced, hearing the rushing of the water and trying once again to find out where the endless pits of both waterfalls lead to. This memorial is a lot more moving than the Vietnam memorial.

On the other hand, the Vietnam memorial is much more personnel. One of the letters engraved on the wall was about the letter sent to a soldier from his mom not to do anything stupid and that she prefers her son to be sent home and not a metal of honor (Yes Rachel, I am referencing this too!). Even though this memorial had less people and less security, it was still a beautiful sight to see. The flowers, the fountain (that wasn’t working, but still beautiful) and the wall with engravings and two openings was an astonishing sight. I think it’s not as popular as the 9/11 memorial because, as we said, most people now a days don’t have a connection anymore to the Vietnam War. It’s just history now. 9/11, however, is more recent and more tangible for many families in New York and all over the US.

In conclusion, both memorials should get the respect they deserve, even if one of the events that the memorial is depicting is more recent than the other.