The Vietnam Women’s Memorial

The Vietnam Women’s Memorial

On this bike ride I stopped by the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, which is one of the three main components of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial complex; the other two being the The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall and The Three Soldiers Statue. It is located at 5 Henry Bacon Drive (MAP) in northwest D.C., in Constitution Gardens adjacent to the National Mall, just northeast of The Lincoln Memorial.

The Vietnam Women’s Memorial is a memorial dedicated to the women of the United States who served in the Vietnam War, most of whom were nurses.  In all, over 265,000 women served in the U.S. armed forces, with nearly 10,000 women in uniform actually served in-country during the Vietnam War. The Memorial is intended to serve as a reminder of the importance of women in the conflict.

The memorial statue depicts three uniformed women with a wounded soldier, creating a true sculpture in the round composition that is interesting from all angles. One of the nurses is shown as she serves as the life support for a wounded soldier lying across her lap. The standing woman looks up, in search of a med-i-vac helicopter or, perhaps, in search of help from God.  The fourth figure is a kneeling figure which the sculpture has called “the heart and soul” of the piece because so many vets see themselves in her as “she stares at any empty helmet, her posture reflecting her despair, frustrations, and all the horrors of war.”

The Vietnam Women’s Memorial was designed by Glenna Maxey Goodacre and dedicated in November of 1993, nine years after the Three Soldiers Statue was added to the Memorial Wall, which had been dedicated two years earlier.  This gives it the distinction of being a first in our nation’s capitol, and in our nation.  Unveiled and dedicated four years prior to the Women In Military Service For America Memorial, the Vietnam Women’s Memorial was the first memorial in American history to honor women’s patriotic service.

The Three Soldiers

The Three Soldiers

The Three Soldiers, also known as The Three Servicemen, is a bronze sculpture created by Frederick Hart.  It is located in Constitution Gardens adjacent to the National Mall near The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall (MAP).  Along with the Memorial Wall and The Vietnam Women’s Memorial, The Three Soldiers statue is part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial complex.  Created to complement and bring a more traditional component to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the soldiers depicted by the statue appear to be looking at the Memorial Wall containing the names of more than 58,000 of their fallen and missing comrades.  Dedicated in 1984, it was added as part of the Memorial two years after completion of the Wall.  But like most things in D.C., the installation of statue was not without disagreement and controversy.    

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was designed by Maya Lin, who won a national competition held to select a design for the memorial.  However, despite the selection of Lin’s design and its many supporters, her design also met with many negative reactions.  Several Congressmen complained, and Secretary of the Interior James G. Watt refused to issue a building permit so that construction of the Memorial could begin.  Also, Vietnam veterans were divided in their opinions about the memorial’s design, much like the country itself was during the war.

The Three Soldiers sculpture was commissioned to stand beside the wall in as a compromise, an attempt to appease those who wanted a more traditional memorial.  The designer of the Memorial Wall, Maya Lin, was so displeased with the addition to her design, that even after the decision was made to place the statue a distance away from the Wall so as to minimize the impact on her design, she still refused to attend the dedication of the sculpture when it was unveiled on Veterans Day in 1984.

Controversy continued when it was discovered that Hart, who had placed third in the original memorial design competition, was paid four times as much for The Three Soldiers statue as Maya Lin had received for the prize-winning design of the Memorial Wall.

Today, most visitors to the memorial complex are unaware of the controversy that went into it.  Along with the Memorial Wall, the sculpture now serves as a symbol of our nation’s honor and recognition of those who served and sacrificed during the Vietnam War.