The Specter of War: Memorialization at the Site of the 1968 My Lai Massacre

This paper analyzes the Vietnamese memorialization of the horrific massacre at My Lai, contrasting it against many physical memorials across the globe. Using M. Elizabeth Weiser’s analysis of twenty-first century public history museums, the article suggests the memorialization illustrates a use of the epideictic that strives for peace and reconciliation rather than valorization or blame. First summarizing Weiser’s exploration of these museums, the article moves to briefly overview the events of March 16, 1968 at My Lai, before it analyzes the rhetoric of the memorialization to illustrate the memorial’s efforts at reconciliation.