Highground, Neillsville, Wisconsin
Wisconsin Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The memorial consists of four bronze figures. The figures are in fragments and inter-locked, mutually supporting each other. One of the figures is a woman; she wears a helmet to show that she is at risk. Beneath her poncho hang wind chimes in the form of bronze bamboo rods. Each of the rods carries the name of one of Wisconsin’s war dead inscribed on it. The names are not to be read, but we can hear their sound in the chimes.
To give the sculpture a sense of place it is set into a facsimile of a Wisconsin Native American burial mound. Place on the mound is a fragmented M-16 rifle. Inset into the rifle is an orange piece of stained glass as a reminder of the issue of Agent Orange.
The statue is not meant to be a scene or to convey a story. It is not meant to be a political statement. It is meant to be a reminder of the cost of things; and perhaps the kindness that is needed to deal with that cost.
Kanyusik"s statue was cast at the University of Wisconsin Platteville under the direction of Bud Wall.
