Though I haven't visited it in several years, my most memorable "exhibit" is
unquestionably the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC.  I have no perso
nal
losses associated with that war, but it tore my heart out and I cried every time
 I visited
and saw the letters, flowers, pictures, and other memorabilia deposited there by
 people
who REMEMBERED and CARED.  That was a dozen years ago, and the immediacy
may be dulled by time, but the evidence of people's responses to something the M
emorial
touched in them was overpowering.

Intellectually, Gary Machlis has pointed out that we could interpret 4 aspects o
f war:
origins, conduct (strategy and tactics), technology, and effects.  Far and away,
 we see the
second and third interpreted.  The Memorial brings "effects" home with a sledge
hammer!

On a historical note, that is the first example of this kind of response to a me
morial that I
am aware of, and there have since been similar responses at the Storm King Fire
site, the
Oklahoma Federal Building, and a number of other tragedies.  It seems qualitativ
ely
different from the laying of flowers that one more commonly sees.  I'd be intere
sting in
hearing from folks who are aware of precedents.


Tom V.
--

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