The Lessons of War
(photos by Lee Bey)
The Munster Veterans Memorial in Munster, Indiana is a series of monuments, each giving tribute the major wars of the 20th century: World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Desert Storm. And it's the most honest and harrowing war memorials I have ever seen.
You walk away from the work with the typical understanding of valor, pride and heroism that occurs in war. But the monument also shows the physical sacrifice that must be paid in conflict. Like the The World War II soldier in the photo above whose arm is being ripped to shreds on D-Day..
Or this fallen Korean War special forces soldier
Another Korean War special forces fighter, grizzled, tired and holding a genade launcher:
A boy, holding the shirt of the father he lost to war:
A U.S. helicopter landing in Vietnam:
The memorial was designed by Julie and Omri Rotblatt-Amrany. Read more about it here.
Comments
Lee,
Thanks for this post. The photos are so compelling! I'll have to make a special trip to Munster to see the memorial.
Just seeing the photos gives me that horrible feeling...that I wish more people felt when they contemplated pushing us into another war - or felt when making diasterous foreign policy decisions that would pull us into yet another one.
Posted by: Marty | March 3, 2008 07:43 PM