page_title: Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial
section_title: Design concept
hierarchical_section_title: Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial / Design concept
caption_attribution_description: English: Tip of shadow touching name of lost veteran
context_page_description: Located in Frankfort, Kentucky, overlooking the state capital, Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial contains the name of 1,103 Kentuckians killed in the Vietnam War. The memorial is in the form of a sundial with the names placed so that the tip of the gnomon's shadow touches each man's name on the date of his death, thus giving each fallen warrior his own personal memorial day.
context_section_description: The memorial was conceived to be a place of quiet meditation to contemplate the nature of the Vietnam War and also to be a place of ceremony to honor those lost in this conflict. The hours of the sundial represent the years of the war, thus each sector between the walkways includes one year of Kentucky losses. The length of the shadow of the gnomon varies with the date of the year, with the longest shadows at the Winter Solstice on December 21 and the shortest on June 21, the Summer Solstice.  Each name on the plaza is placed on the sunline for the date of death between these extremes, The exact time of this anniversary is unique for each name, but does not vary from year to year.
  The arrangement of names was intended to show the pattern of Kentucky casualties for the Vietnam War. The first two deaths occurred in 1962 and the last person was killed in 1975.  The year of heaviest losses was 1968, which falls between Noon and 1:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time. The names of those missing in action or prisoners of war are located in front of the gnomon, where the shadow never falls.
  Veterans Day ceremonies are commemorated by an inscription located on the Plaza where the shadow falls on November 11 at 11:11 AM, the date and time which marked the Armistice in 1918 which ended the first World War.
  The Meditation Area looking down on the plaza provides a distant view of the state capitol, framed by the gnomon and the flags of America and Kentucky.
  The circle of stones around the base of the gnomon are inscribed with the verse from Ecclesiastes 3:1–8:
  For everything there is a season;
  and a time for every matter under heaven:
  A time to be born, and a time to die;
  A time to plant, and a time pluck up what is planted;
  A time to kill, and a time to heal,
  A time to break down, and a time to build up;
  A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
  A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
  A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
  A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
  A time to seek, and a time to lose;
  A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
  A time to rend, and a time to sew;
  A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
  A time to love, and a time to hate;
  A time for war, and a time for peace.
caption: Tip of Shadow on Name
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