Two Very Different Memorials

I found the 9/11 Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial to evoke very different emotions. When walking around the 9/11 Memorial, I was in awe by the beauty of the waterfall and its purpose as well. I’ve been to this memorial before, but I had no idea that the waterfall was meant to reflect the texture of the towers! That was really meaningful and even cool. My elementary school principal’s son, Marc Zeplin A”H, actually passed away on 9/11. Seeing his name at the memorial was so surreal. Even though I was just in kindergarten, I remember that day clearly. But it wasn’t until I was slightly older that I understood the huge loss some of us were forced to endure. Realizing how many names were listed at the memorial, I started becoming a little emotional. These people thought they were heading to work on just a typical Tuesday morning, but instead they were headed to their unanticipated deaths. They each had unique lives and had to lose them  just because they worked in one of two specific buildings in all of New York City.

I wouldn’t say that I was disappointed by the Vietnam Memorial; I just had a different reaction than I did from the 9/11 Memorial. I felt that the Vietnam Memorial did not have the same amount of recognition than that of the 9/11 Memorial. Maybe it’s because we expect soldier casualties from war, but what happened on 9/11 was an unexpected personal attack on our country. As a class, we were the only people visiting and so I felt that it was slightly neglected. But I still loved reading the letters between the soldiers and their families on the wall. It also made me realize the realistic aspects of war. When a soldier chooses to fight, they leave so much behind. They sacrifice so much for such a noble and heroic purpose.

I have so many pictures from both memorials, but for some reason when I try uploading them it keeps saying error and to try again. I’m so upset because I learned how to use panoramic setting on my phone for the first time and it turned out to be so cool! Its fine though because I’ll just show you all in class.