"'Sacrifice' is the surrender of a greater value for
the sake of a lesser one or of a nonvalue." (Ayn Rand)
We soldiers in Vietnam were sacrificed--by our country's intellectual
leaders. But that does not mean that
we, as individuals, sacrificed anything by going there. If we held any
personal values at all that were greater than
an abject worship of death, then we survived. Those who were killed, I
submit, did not sacrifice their lives--something
in these men is more important than their death--you name it: the
adventure of going off to Vietnam; keeping their fellow
soldier alive; hatred of Communism; even love of the battle. Whatever it
was, that is what ought to be memorialized in Art.
| An artist's work can
be, and often is, greater (ie., more universal) than his statements
about it. About his sculpture "Three Soldiers", the
artist, Frederick Hart, said "One senses the figures as passing by
the tree line and, caught in the presence of the wall, turning to gaze
upon it almost as a vision." (Frederick Hart, National Geographic,
May 85)
Hart is referring to the "Vietnam Veterans Memorial", "The Wall" as it is popularly known. This wall is a memorial to sacrifice. The "purpose" of that wall, wrote the New Republic, is "to impress upon the visitor the sheer human waste, the utter meaninglessness of it all...To treat the Vietnam dead like some monstrous traffic accident is more than a disservice to history; it is a disservice to the memory of the 57,000 [killed in Vietnam]." Frederick Hart's "Three Soldiers" is often called "the other memorial". And well it should be. It stands alone, and apart from "The Wall". As Art those three figures stand heroically above and beyond any hint of sacrifice. |
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"They wear the uniform and carry the equipment of war; they are young," Hart told an interviewer. "The contrast between the innocence of their youth and the weapons of war underscores the poignancy of their sacrifice. There is about them the physical contact and sense of unity that bespeaks the bonds of love and sacrifice that is the nature of men at war." There is, of course, some truth in this. "Physical contact...unity...bonds of love" are qualities appropriate to "men at war". The "Three Soldiers" are in visual contact with the same object. The officer in front has stopped with his men, all three with a focused gaze. Focused outward, purposely aware, the "Three Soldiers" have halted. There's presently no enemy, no danger; although their weapons are casually held, they're prepared. From the way they stand to the gear they carry and the combat uniforms they wear, the "Three Soldiers" project values held, not bent-down kneeling sacrificers.
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" A trio of tired soldiers...of warriors larger than life." (Ellen Goodman, Boston Globe, 09/23/1982) "Mr. Hart is a
sculptor in the 'neo-traditional' mode, which means you can tell what
the sculpture is about merely by looking at it. The three soldiers
look like three soldiers, tired and heroic." "Hart captured
in stone something vivid, urgent, and alive."
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"...there is about them
the physical contact and sense of unity that speaks of bonds of love....
And yet each one is alone. Their true heroism lies in these bonds of
loyalty,
in their aloneness, and in their vulnerability." (Frederick Hart)
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"A trio of tired soldiers...of warriors larger than life." "The three soldiers look like three soldiers, tired and heroic." "Hart captured in stone something vivid, urgent, and alive." "Their true heroism lies in
these bonds of loyalty, "Three
Soldiers" is a tribute, not to sacrifice and death, (Frederick Hart died T The Wall 55 on Aug. 13, 1999) |
The Three Soldiers | The Wall | Frederick Hart
Comments to:
For more art of the Vietnam War and Marine Corps Art see: Marine Corps Art and Graphics
