Have you ever been to the Vietnam Memorial or a memorial in general?

• What types of feelings or thoughts did seeing this memorial bring about?

• What do you think memorials represent for people who have served in our military?

• Keep these thoughts in mind while we go through this activity.

Recap of Vietnam Memorial Research

•Construction began on March 11, 1982.

•The wall was completed November 1, 1982.

•There are 3 parts to the memorial, however, the wall is the actual memorial: “The Wall”, “The Three Servicemen”, and “The Flag Pole” (later added)

•Maya Ying Lin won a contest to have her design of The Memorial created in honor of the people who have served in our military.

Recap Continued…

• The names on “The Wall” are people who have died or are still missing.

• As of right now, there are 58,260 names on the wall.

• 1,200 are people listed as MIA’s, POW’s, and others.

• “Each of the 2 walls is 246.75 feet long, composed of 70 separate inscribed granite panels, plus 4 at the end without names; the panels themselves are 40 inches in width.”

Recap Continued…

• “The largest panels have 137 lines of names while the fewest have 5 names.”

• Diamonds next to the names mean that the person is known to be dead, pluses mean that the person is missing. The pluses will be turned into diamonds if we receive the remains, and a circle will go around the plus if the person comes back alive.

• There are no circles right now.

• “The Wall” is made our of black granite that creates a mirror like surface when polished.

Vietnam Memorial

Vietnam Memorial

Yusef Komunyakaa

Born 1947 in LouisianaWrites about Vietnam WarHis love for jazz & blues musicHis childhood

Yusef served a tour of duty in the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1967 in South Vietnam.

He acted as an information specialist and editor for the military paper, The Southern Cross.

He covered major actions, interviewed fellow soldiers, and published articles on Vietnamese history and literature.

This earned him a Bronze Star.

“Facing It”My black face fades, hiding inside the black granite. I said I wouldn't, dammit: No tears. I'm stone. I'm flesh. My clouded reflection eyes me like a bird of prey, the profile of night slanted against morning. I turn this way--the stone lets me go. I turn that way--I'm inside the Vietnam Veterans Memorial again, depending on the light to make a difference. I go down the 58,022 names, half-expecting to find my own in letters like smoke.

I touch the name Andrew Johnson; I see the booby trap's white flash.Names shimmer on a woman's blouse but when she walks away the names stay on the wall. Brushstrokes flash, a red bird's wings cutting across my stare. The sky. A plane in the sky. A white vet's image floats closer to me, then his pale eyes look through mine. I'm a window. He's lost his right arm inside the stone. In the black mirror a woman's trying to erase names: No, she's brushing a boy's hair.

Listen to Yusef’s Poem

• http://www.starve.org/teaching/intro-poetry/facing-it.html

In-Class Assignment

• Pick a line in the poem to focus on that means the most to you, that you relate to, or stands out

• Reflect on a time when you have “faced it” or overcome something that you are proud of or even that you are still facing

• Keeping that experience or reflection in mind, write a poem that illustrates how you interpret that specific line

• Make sure to tie in the line from the poem to your example either as the title or as a line in your poem

• Be ready to share

Resources

• Pictures http://thewall-usa.com/gallery.asp

• Poem and Audio clip http://www.starve.org/teaching/intro-poetry/facing-it.html

• Informationhttp://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Yusef_Komunyakaa

http://www.ibiblio.org/ipa/poems/komunyakaa/biography.php

http://thewall-usa.com/information.asp

Interesting Fact

Andrew Johnson’s name istruly on “The Wall” and heserved one year before bedied in combat.

Army - SP4 - E4 Age:19Race: NegroSex: MaleDate of Birth May 24, 1948From: BOGALUSA, LAReligion:Marital Status: Single

SP4 - E4 - Army - Regular 9th Infantry Division

Length of service 1 yearsHis tour began on Dec 1, 1966Casualty was on Jun 25, 1967

In DINH TUONG, SOUTH VIETNAMHOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY

DROWNED, SUFFOCATEDBody was recovered

 Panel 22E - Line 62