the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
/ðə ˌviːetnɑːm ˈvetərənz məmɔːriəl/, /ðə ˌviːetnæm ˈvetərənz məmɔːriəl/
/ðə ˌviːetnɑːm ˈvetərənz məmɔːriəl/
- a long wall built in memory of Americans who were killed or lost in the Vietnam War. It is in Washington, DC, near the Lincoln Memorial. The wall is V-shaped and made of black polished stone. It has more than 58 000 names on it. The Memorial was designed by Maya Ying Lin, an architecture student at Yale University, and was dedicated in 1982. It has become an emotional place for former Vietnam soldiers and their families.