点评:We read that Vietnam Veterans Memorial is one of the most visited and moving monuments in the United States. And visiting it I can say that also one of the most emotional. From the distance you hardly see it as it's like buried under grass - very symbolic to how the soldiers fought there.
It was designed by Maya Lin, a 21-year-old architecture student at Yale, it was controversial at the beginning, but became iconic.
It is composed of two adjoining 75 meters long walls of which each is composed of 72 black granite panels. Seventy of the panels on each wall are inscribed with the names of the men and women being honoured. The walls ascend from 20 cm tall to over 3 meters where they meet.
The Memorial chronologically lists the names of 58,318 Americans who died in service and those missing in action (MIA). Apparently there are about 30 names incorrectly included. Symbol at each name tells you if the person was confirmed dead or is missing. Reading the messages and letters brought tiers in my eyes.
At both ends of the Memorial you can flip through the directories of the names and their locations.
The statue of three servicemen was added in 1984 to complement the Wall.
翻译:我们了解到,越南战争纪念碑是美国参观人数最多、最令人动容的纪念碑之一。亲身参观后,我更加确信,它也是最令人震撼的纪念碑之一。从远处看,它几乎难以辨认,仿佛被草皮掩埋——这象征着当年士兵们浴血奋战的残酷现实。
纪念碑由当时年仅21岁的耶鲁大学建筑系学生林璎设计,起初颇具争议,但最终成为标志性建筑。
纪念碑由两面相邻的75米长的石墙组成,每面墙都由72块黑色花岗岩石板构成。每面墙上的70块石板上镌刻着受人缅怀的男女军人的名字。石墙高度从20厘米逐渐升高,在交汇处超过3米。
纪念碑按时间顺序镌刻着58,318名在服役期间阵亡或失踪的美国人的名字。据悉,其中约有30个名字被错误地列入。每个名字旁边的符号标明了此人是否已被确认死亡或失踪。阅读这些留言和信件,我的眼眶不禁湿润了。
在纪念碑的两端,你可以翻阅姓名和阵亡者所在地的名录。
为了与纪念墙相呼应,1984年增设了三位军人的雕像。