
In America, there are plenty of pieces of artwork such as this one that have some sort of importance to our country. Different people see and interpret these pictures how they choose to and there are many different ways to do so. This photograph of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C. is one of those mentioned photographs. At first glance of this picture, the first thing that I notice is the wall of names. Secondly, the reflection of the six soldiers staring back at the working man, and the red roses with the American flag laying at the foot of the wall beside the man’s feet. Lastly, what most people would fail to notice about this picture is the colors and the overall dark hue the picture portrays.

The wall of names, or the Vietnam War Memorial is one of the most visited landmarks in D.C. according to www.theatlantic.com. Etched into the wall by a machine are almost 53,000 names of the men and women that gave their lives to fight for their country. In the picture, you can see what looks like the names of just some of these men and women. This is significant to this picture because it shows us that this is the Vietnam War Memorial that we are looking at and we can conclude that the man standing there with his hand on the wall has something in common with this section of the wall. Out of the almost 53,000 names on the wall, approximately 1200 of them are still Missing In Action (MIA) or Prisoners of War (POW). I think that says a lot about our country that they even went to greater lengths to include the POW MIA men and women in the wall as well. The names on the wall are significant to this picture because they tell us the memorial we are looking at, and that the man has something to do with the wall.

Secondly, I notice the small things laying at the foot of the wall or the bottom of the picture. What really stood out to me though was the man, slumped over with the briefcase at his feet, that looks like he had a really long day at work and is really tired or sad. But, then I realize that where his hand is resting on the wall, there is another or one of a reflection pressed against his. We take from the context clues of this picture that the younger looking guy in the reflection is the working man’s son that passed away in the Vietnam War. At the foot of the wall you can see where some other visitors have places red roses, small American flags, and even a black POW MIA sign. These small items included in the picture show us that not only the man in the picture but others have a relationship to the wall as well. 

Lastly, I notice the things that others sometimes fail to see or do not realize that these things are even there. Such as the dark and gloomy mood in the picture that gives off feelings of sadness and grief. In the top right hand corner of the picture you can see a small sliver of the sky from this particular day. It seems to be really cloudy in this area and there is no sunlight; it’s looking like it will rain soon. Next, I notice the bricks at the bottom of the picture that the man’s briefcase is set on and his black suit jacket is neatly thrown over. These bricks of differentiating colors and patterns cast, to me, a sort of realization that all the people on the wall are different. Some are white, some are black, some are deceased and some are alive. They are all different and died of different circumstances and I hope that no matter what America and the world comes to that we will never lose respect for the men and women who lay their lives on the line every day to keep us safe back home. 

Finally, there are so many different ways, especially around the world that this picture can be portrayed from different points of view. There are many ways to interpret all things and this picture is no exception. The Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. is a perfect example of one of these landmarks or images. The first thing I noticed about it was the one hundred plus names on it in this particular picture. That really shows you how many people along with casualties that served in the Vietnam War. The second thing that struck my attention were the small things laying at the foot of the wall; like the red roses, the small American flags, and the POW MIA sign. And lastly, the mood of the picture is dark, sad and gloomy because of the sky being cloudy, and the dark colors used in the photograph. Any picture can be inspiring but, I think that this one deserves to be at the top of your list. 
