America's Monuments | 58,000 Names | 6

American History Tellers

Wondery

Society & Culture, Kids & Family, History, Education For Kids

4.7 • 18.3K Ratings

🗓️ 31 March 2021

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Vietnam War was one of the most divisive conflicts in American history. Over 58,000 Americans died in the fighting; many more returned home with wounds both visible and hidden.

When veterans lobbied for a memorial to honor American soldiers lost in Vietnam, a young college student named Maya Lin was picked from a blind competition to design it. Her unconventional vision would lead to a bitter dispute over the nature and purpose of public art in America — and how a nation heals its wounds after a collective loss.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Prime members, you can listen to American History Tellers add free on Amazon Music,
0:05.6	download the app today.
0:09.4	Imagine us June 1970.
0:20.6	Your private first class at the Camron Bay Military Base on the coast of South Vietnam.
0:25.0	A year ago, you came to the hospital here to recover from a shrapnel wound.
0:29.7	But today you're healthy and the moment you've been waiting for has finally arrived.
0:33.8	You've been discharged.
0:35.7	You're sitting on a bench outside your barracks waiting for your ride to the airport.
0:39.9	Next to you is one of your squad leaders, Corporal Murphy.
0:43.0	The two of you fought in the same unit after you got out of the hospital.
0:46.6	He turns to you in smiles.
0:48.2	Well, what's the first thing you're going to do when you get back?
0:51.1	Oh man, I'm going to lay down on a couch in my mom's house and stay there for a long,
0:55.2	long time.
0:56.2	I'm sure it should be happy to see you.
0:58.2	Not as happy as I'll be to see her.
1:00.7	Murphy always sends his men off with a farewell.
1:04.1	In this case, farewell is a flask of rye whiskey.
1:07.5	The two of you take turns sipping from it as transport jeeps pass by.
1:11.6	When do you think you'll go back?
1:13.6	Well, when there's nothing left to do here.
1:15.8	I don't know, maybe not even then.
	...

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