9/11 and Vietnam Memorial

The 9/11 and Vietnam memorial for me achieved different emotion in the way they were structured, the location of the memorial, and what I feel were the designer’s overall goal in the creation on the spaces.

The 9/11 memorial was in my opinion more of a sanctuary and actually a memorial in memory of what happened at that place. All you could hear was the sound of rushing water and see a large open area with trees so it gave more of a peaceful vibe to me. It was a memorial for the living and the dead that were affected by September 11th in my opinion. The symbolism of the two pools/wells I think were tastefully used and gave the structure more oaf a personal meaning to the families of those whose names were written on the ledges. It upset me a little that the memorial was a little like tourist spot for some of the people there, and they didn’t understand the significance of why that memorial had to be created,and for some people the visiting the memorial is almost like visiting a cemetery for them, but regardless I feel despite that it didn’t diminish the effect of the memorial.

The Vietnam memorial was depressing for me. Unlike the 9/11 memorial, I didn’t get a feeling of remembrance  or gratitude for what the soldiers of this war had to endure and their legacy. The Vietnam War itself was not a popular war to say the least, and the troops coming home from Vietnam were not treated kindly by the American public, and even in their memorial I didn’t feel the soldiers were respected. First, the location was far off out of the public eye,and was not taken acre of. The fountain was off,and people were just ignoring the structure. Also what was written on the glass cubes were what I felt to be almost regretful word by the boys/men in this war. Almost all of the phrases taken to place on this memorial were words expressing how frightened they were, or how changed they have become because of Vietnam. In that aspect I think the artist of this memorial was trying to achieve this effect that I had of remote towards the attitude of the soldiers and what they experienced, but I feel like the entire meaning of the memorial was brushed aside because no one wanted to see it.