| The Vietnam Women's Memorial was dedicated on the
National Mall just yards from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, The Wall,
on November 11, 1993, in Washington, D.C. One may think that the approval,
placement, and financing of a statue for such a just cause would be
a relatively simple process - after all, this was the first memorial
on the Mall of our nation's Capital to honor the military service
of women. To the contrary, the process was long and arduous and included
two separate pieces of Congressional legislation and approval of three
federal commissions. The dedication of the Vietnam Women's Memorial
(VWM) represented the culmination of a 10-year struggle by thousands
of volunteers who overcame controversy, rejection, and challenge by
those who thought that a women's memorial was not needed. This case
study is about the passion, the process, and the politics of turning
a vision into reality and how one former army nurse made a profound
difference in women's history (Vietnam Women's Memorial Project, 1993). |
