The Vietnam War remains a deeply significant event in American history, its repercussions continuing to resonate across generations. While the physical Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a powerful symbol of national mourning and healing, the VVMF website extends its reach, providing a dynamic and accessible platform for engaging with the war's history and its human cost. This project explores the website as a vital component of the memorial's overall commemorative project, demonstrating how digital platforms can shape and transmit postmemory.
Postmemory, as defined by Marianne Hirsch, describes the relationship of later generations to the trauma of their predecessors. For those who did not directly experience the Vietnam War, the VVMF website serves as a key conduit for understanding its impact. The "In Memory" program, which allows families and friends to submit photos and tributes to deceased Vietnam veterans, is particularly poignant in this regard. These personal narratives, often accompanied by images of the veterans in their youth, create a powerful sense of connection across time and generational divides, highlighting the enduring pain and loss associated with the war.
This poster session will analyze the key aspects of the VVMF website, including the visual rhetoric of the website’s design, the interactive elements that contribute to user engagement, and how the VVMF website constructs a particular narrative of the Vietnam War, considering the choices made in terms of content selection, organization, and presentation. It will explore how this narrative addresses issues of patriotism, sacrifice, loss, and healing.
This poster session will contribute to broader discussions within the field of history regarding memory, commemoration, and the impact of digital technologies on historical understanding. It will offer a valuable case study of how online platforms can function as sites of postmemory, shaping the ways in which later generations engage with traumatic historical events.