WASHINGTON — A photo an Ohio man snapped showing two kids climbing on one of D.C.’s Vietnam memorials in front of veterans is going viral and prompting public outcry.
Visiting from northern Ohio, illustrator and photographer Matthew Munson was at the Vietnam Women’s Memorial — part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial — on Saturday when he saw two children climbing on the statue that honors the thousands of women who risked their lives to care for the wounded and dying during the Vietnam War. The kids were encouraged to do so by their parents who wanted to get a picture, Munson says.
“I didn’t see anything wrong with it at the time, until the kids really weren’t focused on taking a picture, and they were just dancing and playing around like a jungle gym,” says Munson, who — just a few months ago — finished five years of service with the Marine Corps.
“What really bothered me was that the parents were right there and they were just watching and laughing.”
Munson took a photo of the kids ascending the 15-foot-tall statue as visitors walk by — one of whom seems to be a veteran in a wheelchair. He says a group of veterans were at the site when the kids were on the statue.
“I could see how hurt [the veterans] were. It was a very powerful moment. It was very awkward to see that kind of contrast,” he says.
Munson posted the image on Facebook and it has been shared more than 80 times and received more than 700 comments. Also, Munson posted the photo to Reddit Wednesday and it has received more than 3,700 comments by Thursday morning.
Opinions about the kids’ behavior vary on social media.
“I spent 4 years in the marines in ICORE in 67 and 68 and during tet…get a grip they are just kids let them play,” write Richard George on Facebook.
“This is totally disrespect at it’s fullest. The parents should be slapped with a fine. My sons are 7 and 5 and crazy, but I don’t think they would dare,” Trisha Marie wrote on Facebook.
“There is no respect taught to children anymore? That is the shame on the parents,” Carolyne E. West Vedder posted on the social media site.
Munson says he is surprised by the differences in perspectives people are sharing online.
“I didn’t really realize at the time that people could justify kids playing on the memorial,” he says, adding that he understands both sides, but that there is a time and place for kids to behave their age.
“I personally still feel like they were being disrespectful. It wasn’t kids being kids, it was parents letting their kids do something disrespectful.”
