Written by DCist Contributor Ben Schuman-Stoler

We all know about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, but probably mostly as a stop on the round-the-Mall tour we give visiting family and friends. If they ask, we tell them that a young woman won a competition in the ’80s. They say, “Wow, that’s interesting. What a great memorial.”

But it remains an emotional site, its message solemn and powerful, which we were reminded of when two acts of vandalism occurred last month. On September 7, the National Park Service was alerted to a mysterious oily substance that defaced 14 of the memorial’s 140 panels. Although the Vietnam Memorial Fund, which raised the 9 million private dollars to build the memorial, and AMVETS offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the offenders, no further evidence has surfaced.

On or near September 18, visitors to the Memorial’s website, which features an in-depth description of the Wall and biographical information of the men and women whose names are listed on it, were confronted with a short video containing anti-U.S., Israel, Kurd, and Armenian messages that referred to the 1915 Ottoman stand at the Battle of Gallipoli. The FBI was alerted, as well as the National Parks Service and the veterans of the 4th Battalion 9th Infantry Regiment, who maintain the site. So far, just a single hacker named “Turk Defacer” has claimed responsibility.

The winner of the 1981 competition was of course Maya Lin, whose modernist design stood in stark contrast, even when it was still on paper, to the classic Lincoln and Washington counterparts on its flanks. At the time, many people thought the low, black memorial was an embarrassment to the veterans, not a tribute. It dwelt on the loss of life instead of honoring achievement and sacrifice.

Today, the controversy surrounding the wall has been replaced by loyal love: it is the Mall’s most visited site.

Photo by enviziondotnet.