After my visit to Fraunces Tavern Museum, I decided to go down about one block to the Vietnam Veterans Plaza located on 55 Water Street. The site was dedicated for those 1,741 New Yorkers who died during this conflict. This small plaza was first dedicated in 1985, then redone and reopenned in Nov 2001.
The center piece of the Plaza is the "Memorial" which is long greenish, tranlucent slab of stone where is engraved various parts of letters sent by soldiers from Vietnam. Most of the wording is hard to see until one gets very close to the Memorial itself. The official website actually has the wording which are inscribed onto the Memorial. The Memorial runs east-to-west in the direction of the triangular plaza. On both sides of the Memorial are a "railings" in which many visitors leave momentos such as flowers, shoes, dolls, flags, etc. Today I did not see any items there, then again it was so cold and windy, any artifacts would not have lasted long.
Along the walkway leading up to the Memorial from the west side, from Water Street, is the "Walk of Honor", consisting of several five foot high black granite pillar where the names of each of the falled is engraved on metal plates. The names are listed in alphabetical order with the age of each of the dead.
At the end of the walk, on a very low polish rock platform, a map of Vietnam with battle signs is engraved on a stainless steel plate. The maps was hard to see due to the daylight but still interesting to see.
On the south side is a round, granite fountain when it is operating shoots water but considering it was winter, the water did not flow.
In line with the Memorial, on the northside of the plaza are three large stainless steel plaques with the images and information on three individuals from the conflict. One is Lieutenant Father Vincent Capodanno, who died in action and given the Medal of Honor, posthumously. Next is Specialist Fourth George C. Lang, Army, also recieved the Medal of Honor. An the third is Marine Private First Class Dan Bullock, the youngest servicemen killed during the war at the age of 15.
On the east side of the plaza, facing the FDR drive, are flag poles with the flags of each of the military services and a flag with the Vietnam Veteran Service Ribbon.
In all it the Vietnam Veterans Plaza was alright for me. It has a bit less then I wish they had as they used such stark materials as granite and stainless steel. Then again these outdoor Plazas, rements of the 1970's urban revitalation efforts of New York City, were meant to be enjoyed during the nice weather, not the dead of winter I was visiting. The venue did, however, convey the sense of "memorial" as much as any other I have been too.
Photos I took can be seen at the Facebook Photo site below:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=46403&id=1507778102&l=84497741da
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