Brian Coppola :: Late 19th/Early-to-Mid 20th C cartoonists & illustrators

“An Insult to Our Viet Vets” (November 17, 1982) By Charles Phillip Bissell

Artist: Phillip Bissell (All)

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“An Insult to Our Viet Vets” (November 17, 1982) By Charles Phillip Bissell Comic Art

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Artwork Details

Title:	“An Insult to Our Viet Vets” (November 17, 1982) By Charles Phillip Bissell
Artist:	Phillip Bissell (All)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Illustration
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	424
Likes on CAF:	1 2
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	9/4/2019
Comic Art Archive:

Description

“An Insult to Our Viet Vets” (November 17, 1982)
By Charles Phillip Bissell (1926 - )
10.5 x 17.5 in., ink and wash on board

In 1960, Boston Globe cartoonist Phil Bissell, working for $25 a day, was handed an assignment that would change his life—and the lives of fans of the brand-new AFL football team coming to Boston. “Sports editor Jerry Nason came to me and he said, ‘They’ve decided to call the team the Boston Patriots. You better have a cartoon ready for tomorrow’s edition.’” Bissel’s “Pat Patriot” cartoon was the Patriot’s logo from 1961-1992.

The Vietnam War Memorial was dedicated on November 17, 1982, following a period of controversy about its design.

I personally consider it one of the topmost memorable memorials in the world.

Whereas the typical war memorial champions victory (or at least the prowess of its heroes), and which are typically designed as temples, shrines, or coliseums, here we had a literal gash, chevron-shaped, dug out of the earth, to reveal the identity of the dead. As a visitor, you enter this reflective underworld (no coin to Charon needed for passage).

If you have never been, go at night. If you happen to hit a fog-shrouded night, all the better.

The austere (if not violent) design was dogged by opposition. Placing a golden-colored, three-soldier statue on the mount, above the centerpoint, was fortunately overruled. The memorial’s designer, Maya Lin, rightly and vehemently argued that the entire aesthetic and story of her design would be altered; not a lost or subtle point being advocated by the proponents of that idea. The statue sits in its own niche park, off and away from the Lin memorial.

Another memorial with a profound design, dedicated in 1990, sits on the hill at Kent State University, where student protesters were gunned down by the National Guard during the Vietnam War on May 4, 1970. It is called the May 4 Memorial.

A third stunning memorial is in Berlin, near Humbolt University, in the Bebelplatz, site of one of the infamous Nazi book burnings (May 10, 1933). Dedicated in 1995, the subterranean memorial is titled “Bibliothek,” and consists of a thick glass plate cut into the cobbles of the plaza, through which you can see the empty shelves that could hold the 20,000 books lost that May evening.

The engraved plaque says “That was only a prelude; where they burn books, they will in the end also burn people.”

On May 10, students at Humbolt hold a book sale at the location every year to commemorate the anniversary of the original event. Cushions are provided so the public can enjoy reading in the open air.

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	Brian Coppola Premium Gallery Owner
Joined:	March 2009
Last Login:	September 2025
Country:	UNITED STATES
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