When I walked through Madison Square Park I saw over 50 monuments and I’m sure there are even more. Apart from the big monuments and statues I also saw small ones like little plaques on the benches which I didn’t expect. The monument that I chose to focus on was the Eternal Light Flagstaff. This memorial has a lot of components to it. It is 125 ft tall and is made from metal, but originally was pine before being replaced in 1976. It has a star on top of the pole to give tribute to the soldiers that died in World War 1. It was dedicated on Armistice Day, November 11, 1923. This monument reminds me of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. that I visited five years ago, which was also to commemorate those who served and died in the Vietnam War. I think the intended audience for this monument is the people of New York. To instill and remind everyone the sacrifices that were made for this country, and to inspire and educate the newer generations. I would say this monument has elements of pathos for multiple reasons. It instills an emotional connection with those that see what it represents, and when I walked through the park as I do twice a week, I noticed on Veterans Day there were many flowers surrounding this specific monument which was emotional. The monument is located rigth at one of the entrances to the park making it stand out from the other monuments located further in. I think the monument is successful in paying tribute to our country’s veterans, since it draws a lot of attention from people walking by and gathers them to stop and read the words so powerfully scripted, “TO OUR HEROES”.
2 thoughts on “MSP Monument”
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I like how there is strong historical background that explains a lot about the context of those statues. Also, I like how informative and detailed your response is.
I visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial too. It does remind me of it too but I didn’t think about it as I visited MSP.