FUN WITH MAPS – ISSUE 2023-185 DAILY FEATURE:

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (November 13, 2023) – Today’s edition of Fun with Maps tells the story of a moving veterans memorial in Washington D. C.

Somber

A grass roots effort by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund initiated the process of creating a memorial for the Vietnam Veterans and specifically for those Americans who fell in the war.  Congress authorized the use of a piece of land near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D. C. to honor Vietnam Veterans.

A design contest was created and a rather controversial design by Maya Lin was selected as the winner.  It was controversial given its lack of ornamentation, black color and because it resides largely below ground level.  Nonetheless, it is a rather moving monument, in part because of its simplicity.

Finally, ground was broken in early 1982.  The black stone used was selected given its reflective properties.  It was quarried in India.   There were 57,939 names of the fallen inscribed originally and several hundred have been added later.

The Vietnam Memorial was dedicated on November 13, 1982.

This two-panel map shows India on the left and much of southeast Asia, including Vietnam, on the right.   It was created by Peters in 1692.   

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.