The Monuments Committee competition that Maya Lin had won with her Vietnam Veterans Memorial design consisted of 1,400 entries anonymous. After 21-year-old Maya Lin's Asian identity was revealed, her design received a lot of backlash and discrimination. However, Maya Lin managed to win the hearts of the judges and thousands of Americans; not only was its Vietnam Veterans Memorial installed, but it is also the most visited monument in Washington DC. Lin won the hearts of many by designing an apolitical and deeply personal memorial. Lin's design consisted of over 58,000 names of those who served in the Vietnam War printed on black granite; the black granite provided a reflective surface that created an illusion and although all the names were written individually, there is a strong and powerful sense of unity within the monument. Furthermore, it is beautiful how Lin created a monument that allowed those left behind to come to terms with the death of their loved ones by creating a monument that literally seems to come out of the earth and provide a peaceful place for people they can reflect.Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Maya Lin's design is different from many other war monuments where powerful soldiers and historical figures are depicted; these projects provide a powerful yet public and overall feeling devoid of intimacy. On the contrary, Lin's drawing overwhelms the person who observes it, dragging him on a chronological journey that allows the viewer to perceive the tranquility of the drawing; it is a monument of intimacy and power. In Lin's one-page submission for his project, he emphasizes the purpose of his monument by explaining the monument's focus on the collective of men and women who died in war rather than an individual focus on one person, making the monument very personal, but also a place where everyone can come to peaceful terms with the loss of their loved one and with themselves. Works Cited Blackstone, A. M. (1993). A different memorial. Smithsonian, 24(2), 86-97. Finkel, J. (1984). The winning design. The Washington Post Magazine, 8(17), 22-27.Hagen, C. (1987). The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Controversy: A Chronology of Events (CRS Report for Congress). Hynes, S. (1989). The Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Daedalus, 118(1), 1-16. Jan Scruggs and Joel Swerdlow, To Heal a Nation: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial (New York: Harper & Row, 1985). Lin, M. (1989). Borders: a cultural topography. New York: Simon and Schuster. Lin, M. (2000). Borders. New York: Simon & Schuster. Lin, M. (2013). Maya Lin: A Strong and Clear Vision (documentary). Loughry, E. (2007). A Quiet, Reflective Presence: The Unlikely Triumph of Maya Lin's Vietnam Veterans Memorial. McFarland. Tull, J. (1994). The Long Journey Home: Understanding and Healing the Wounds of War. Pauline press.