Minnesota World War II Memorial dedicated



The Minnesota World War II Veterans Memorial was dedicated Saturday in front of the State Capitol. The memorial features ten glass panels etched with text and scenes from World War II, within a plaza area at the foot of a mall leading to the front entrance to the Capitol. The glass panels are three feet wide, eight feet tall, and mounted on Minnesota granite. Well over twelve thousand people attended.

A roll call of the 6,000 state WW II casualties began the events and continued during the day.

Vintage aircraft flew over the site during the event and military vehicles of the era were on display. The ceremony began with a flyover by twenty-four WW II aircraft, including three Mustangs and three two-engine bombers.

Stan Turner was the Master of Ceremonies during the dedication. The keynote speaker was retired general John Vessey. Among the many veterans honored were Stan Kowalski and "Chuck" Lindberg; the latter was one of those who raised the first flag over Iwo Jima.

Governor Tim Pawlenty formally dedicated the site to the over 326,000 Minnesotans who served during the war.

A flyover in the Missing Man formation was scheduled to end the ceremonies.

Construction was authorized by the State Legislature in 2000.

A related monument on the mall is the gun from the USS Ward which fired the U.S.'s first shot of World War II, during an encounter with a submarine before the attack on Pearl Harbor.