Re-membering Vietnam: War, Trauma, and “Scarring Over” After “The Wall”

The era of the Vietnam War was one of the most tumultuous in American history. It was a time that dismembered individuals, families, and much of the government and society- physically, psychologically, and intellectually. The process of addressing the Vietnam War has been helped along by distance and time, which have allowed for historical analyses, but one of the main catalysts for its reconciliation in American cultural history has been the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall. This article is an analysis of how a wall, something generally meant to separate, protect, or keep people in or out, has become a cultural phenomenon as an agent of healing. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, generally referred to simply as "The Wall," has helped to re-member, put back together, or re-engage individuals, families, and much of the government and society through a process of remembering that has addressed physical, psychological, and intellectual trauma- quite an astonishing feat, since this was done primarily through a minimalist work of art designed by a college student. The memorial consists of two black granite wings, each almost two hundred and fifty feet long, which meet at an obtuse angle that is submerged into the landscape of the National Mall, a green space between the Lincoln and Washington Memorials, and in the far back yard of the White House, in Washington DC. Yet it is precisely the nonrepresentational nature of The Wall, rather than the figural nationalism typical of war memorials, that promotes interaction through the names etched on its surface, reconciliation through the items visitors are instigated to leave there, and healing because it brings the subversive subject of the Vietnam War into the open. These characteristics have made The Wall effective, and a standard by which subsequent memorials of war or catastrophe are measured. When we remember Vietnam, whether the war itself or the era that surrounds it, we bring up an uneasy past. The controversy that was part of that history plagued the The Wall's development, particularly the design itself, which was subjected to revisions and compromise. The multitude of meanings inscribed in The Wall reflect larger cultural issues as basic as right and wrong, good and bad, and as complicated as gender inequity, racism, constructions of identity, masculinities, and cultural, social, and political memory. A number of writers have discussed The Wall as a reflection of past and present society. In her essay, "The Wall, The Screen and the Image: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial," Marita Sturken suggests that "the black walls of the memorial act as screens for innumerable projections memory and history - of the United States' participation in the Vietnam War and the experience of the Vietnam veterans since the war" (163). Unlike previous wars, many of which ended with parades or some type of respectful display for those who had served, Vietnam was a travesty. Many people protested the war, and many men who were drafted went reluctantly or ran away, becoming known as "draft dodgers." In addition, unlike earlier accounts of war, such as newsreels that gave updates during World War II, episodes from Vietnam were shown frequently on the nightly news and in newspapers. Those who fought in the war and those who objected to it were often vilified while the war dragged on with no positive outcome. Veterans who returned to the United States often had psychological problems brought on by the anxiety that was part of jungle warfare. Others contracted diseases related to the jungle or chemicals used to aid fighting. Many veterans were treated with hostility and returned to shouts of "baby killer" or "murderer," and veterans were even spat upon. Veterans often submitted to a kind of internal forgetting, or denial, in which they disassociated themselves from Vietnam by becoming model citizens so as not to be identified with the war or stereotypes that portrayed Vietnam veterans as social outcasts. …