Design: Storm over a Viet Nam Memorial

An eloquently simple design for Washington's Mall draws fire

Though Viet Nam veterans never got big parades, by next year they should at least be able to dedicate a memorial to their fallen comrades. But as with so much else touched by that tragic war, the memorial's eloquently understated design is stirring controversy.

Designated for a site on two acres of gently rolling park land on Washington's Mall, the monument will consist of two black granite walls that meet in a V and recede into the ground. One critic, Viet Nam Veteran Tom Carhart, calls...

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