Vietnam War and U.S. Army Veteran Doug Bekke of Minneapolis was on-hand to help unveil the World War I Memorial, the closest to the front door of city hall. It joins monuments to World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, and the current war on terror.
“I grew up listening to World War I stories,” said Bekke, who represented his uncles who had fought in the Great War. “I had World War II relatives, but the World War I stories grabbed me. I’ve been interested in World War I all my life.”
That lead him to travel to many battlefields across Europe integral to the battles of more than 100 years ago, and he said he marvels at the evidence of the carnage that remains, along with the trenches that served as the site of atrocities.
The new marble monuments depict images from each war along with maps and artifacts from the era.
“They did a first-class job. It really is beautiful,” said Bekke. “They really did a wonderful job on it, and the city of Blaine can be very proud of their monument.”
Veterans Park President Steve Guider lead the ceremony, which included honor guards, a bugler, and a 21-gun salute. He said the years-long planning and effort to erect the veterans park has consumed his life in ways he never thought possible.
“The crowds keep getting bigger, the amount of veterans that you’re meeting at these, and when you hear their stories, and to be able to put up something like this and honor their service—it’s indescribable,” Guider said.
He said the design of the monuments with the depictions of each distinct conflict was purposeful.
“It’s something that hopefully becomes educational for people, and maybe they see them and want to go research it a little bit,” said Guider. “To have veterans here, pointing things out, it’s priceless and it’s real exciting to see.”
Indeed, a crowd gathered around the wheelchair-bound Korean War vet alongside the monument to his battle, and listened as he shared stories. For Bekke, it’s also a welcome sight.
“I don’t find many people that are very turned on to the history of this country,” said Bekke. “So, anything like this that helps is great.”
Guider hopes more monuments going up–including another one in the spring funded by the 3M Open’s charitable arm–will continue to draw support for the on-going effort to complete the park.
“It’s happening and now it’s just a push get it finished,” said Guider.
