The Vietnam Veterans Memorial honors members of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam War. The memorial consists of two black granite walls engraved with the names of dead and missing service members. Each wall is 246 feet 9 inches (75.21 meters) long and has 72 polished panels pointing to the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. The panels start at ground level and sink lower before rising again to symbolize a wound slowly healing. The Memorial, dedicated in 1982, was designed by the architect Maya Lin.