Creating the Vietnam Veterans Memorial: The Inside Story

by Robert W. Doubek

Overview

Since its dedication in 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial has become an American cultural icon symbolizing the war in Vietnam--the defining experience of the Baby Boom generation. The black granite wall of names is one of the most familiar media images associated with the war, and after three decades the memorial remains one of the nation's most visited monuments.

While the memorial has enjoyed broad acceptance by the American public, its origins were both humble and contentious. A grassroots effort launched by veterans with no funds, the project was completed in three and a half years. But an emotional debate about aesthetics and the interpretation of heroism, patriotism and history nearly doomed the project. Written from an insider's perspective, this book tells the complete story of the memorial's creation amid Washington politics, a nationwide design competition and the heated controversy over the winning design and its creator.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476619880
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	07/04/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	324
File size:	6 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Robert W. Doubek served in Vietnam in 1969 as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force and later was in charge of building the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Presently an employee of the U.S. State Department, he travels worldwide to purchase land for construction of new U.S. embassy and consulate compounds. He lives in Washington, D.C.
Robert W. Doubek served in Vietnam in 1969 as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force and later was in charge of building the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Presently an employee of the U.S. State Department, he travels worldwide to purchase land for construction of new U.S. embassy and consulate compounds. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface
Abbreviations
1. “What about a memorial?”
2. The Man and the Idea
3. $144.50
4. The West Pointer and the Sculptor
5. Friends in High Places
6. New Recruits but Bunko Too
7. Two Acres
8. National Velvet
9. The Buck, the Millionaire, and Action on All Fronts
10. Crisis on the Hill, but Promise of a Rose Garden
11. Design Disputes
12. The Fundraising Maze
13. Not Afraid of Virginia Woolf
14. Burning Out
15. The Largest Architectural Design Competition Ever
16. “What the hell is that?”
17. Unveiling and Reaction
18. Who’s the Real Mother?
19. The Sacred Names and the Inscription
20. Our Opponents Take the Field
21. “A nasty five hours”
22. Prefixes
23. Moving Dirt and Molding Clay
24. “Art war”
25. “A felt need in this country for healing”
26. Our Moment
27. The Truce Ends
28. The Diva Sings
29. Safe at Home, but No Applause
30. “Our Parthenon”
Postscripts
Index

Editorial Reviews

Doubek tells the story from his recollections and personal notes, calendars, photos, and news clippings...the book is a good read because Doubek, who was an important player in the Memorial’s early history, describes the fervor, as well as the pettiness and rancor, displayed by those for and against the design, himself included”—The VVA Veteran; “a valuable contribution to the memorial’s historiography”—The New York Review of Books.

From the Publisher