Soliders Field Veterans Memorial

Date Modified: 01/10/2008 1:35 PM

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Soldiers Field Veterans Memorial is an impressive $4 million to $5 million memorial that was built to honor those who gave all and dedicated to all who served. Many people and contractors in the construction trade, plus many others, donated their time, talent and materials to make this memorial one of the finest in the country. It was built without the use of tax dollars and all committee members are unpaid volunteers. An interest bearing perpetual fund of $500,000 was established to maintain the memorial.

Located five blocks south of the Mayo Clinic at 300 7th St. SW, it consists of four circular granite walls, a 12-foot by 51-foot main wall, 50 trees, 4,920 pavers, 36 granite benches, as well as the US flag, the Minnesota state flag, six armed forces flags and the POW/MIA flag.

The outside walls feature battle graphics from the Civil War to the Gulf War and the inside walls are engraved with stories of important military events from the Revolutionary War to the Gulf War. Educational markers that show the history and proper etiquette of the American flag stand inside of the memorial. A statue of a mother and child sits in front of the wall and statues of a nurse and medic treating a wounded soldier is to the rear of the Wall of Remembrance. The logos of the military academies are engraved on the rear of the Wall of Remembrance. There is a small complex featuring a statue of a World War II soldier at the corner of 6th Street and 2nd Avenue Southwest, the entrance to the memorial.

Cannons from the Gulf War and World War I are on display. Primary funding came from the sale of pavers, purchased by or for veterans that form the walkway surrounding the memorial. The pavers are pieces of granite 8 inches by 20 inches that contain the name of a veteran, when they served and the branch he or she served in.

A focal point of the memorial is a granite wall 12 feet high by 51 feet long that contains the names of over 2,300 people from southeast Minnesota who died as a result of injuries sustained in service from the Civil War to the present.