Bloomington Veterans Memorial: Groundbreaking set for unique digital dog tag tribute
Bloomington veterans' memorial groundbreaking
Bloomington is breaking ground on a unique Veterans memorial that will feature oversized dog tags and digital stories for up to 1,500 veterans. FOX 9’s Tim Blotz has the story.
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - A long-awaited veterans' memorial in Bloomington is finally moving forward, promising a new way to honor service members and their families.
Groundbreaking set for new memorial and park project
What we know:
The city and veterans groups are holding a formal groundbreaking Tuesday, May 5, for both the Bloomington Veterans Memorial and the Nine-Mile Creek Corridor Renewal Project. The event will take place at Moir Park on Morgan Avenue, starting at 4:30 p.m. with the Bloomington Police Honor Guard.
The memorial will be located at the entrance to Harrison Park and has been in planning for more than four years. Organizers say this project took extra time and fundraising because they wanted something different than traditional granite walls.
The memorial will feature arches, called armatures, that rise from the ground and hold oversized dog tags. Each tag will display a veteran’s name, years of service and military branch.
"When you come into the memorial, one of the first things you will see is a set of armatures that come out of the ground and those armatures will be oversized dog tags will hang on those armature," said Kate Blessing of Bloomington Remembers Veterans, Inc. "Each one will have the details of a service member, their name, their years of service, their branch of the military."
The memorial will have space for 1,500 dog tags, and organizers hope to dedicate it in time for Veterans Day.
Why you should care:
The dog tags will be linked to an online database, creating a digital library of veterans’ experiences.
"My particular story includes my service on the Enterprise and that took me into the Cuban Missile Crisis," said U.S. Navy Veteran Bob Works who served on both the aircraft carriers USS Enterprise and USS Independence in the early 1960s. "But there's all kinds of potential different types of stories. They don't have to be headline stories that will message the families what their loved one did, what they cared about and the country that they support."
The memorial is designed to be accessible and peaceful, honoring both veterans and their families.
"It's going to be accessible from the parking lot," said Blessing as she described the layout of the memorial. "It's going to have all the components to be, everything we've promised it to be all these years and first and foremost, it's really going to honor our veterans for their service, their sacrifice, their families, and just be a place to come and to be one with service, with nature."
The memorial will also include two paths — one symbolizing the veteran, the other their family.
"They come together with the flag pole to show the homecoming, that spirit of coming back together after service, walking alongside each other, supporting one another, and then back together," said Blessing.
The backstory:
As of now, about 100 veterans have signed up for the memorial, but there is room for many more.
"We have just about 100 veterans to date that have signed up to add their name to the memorial, and we have room for 1,500," said Blessing.
Participation costs $350, which covers both the physical dog tag and a digital page in the online veterans' library. Veterans or families with ties to Bloomington are encouraged to participate, though organizers say they are open to others as well.
"Most of the people that are going to be involved in this in terms of getting into the actual memorial are going to be people who live in Bloomington. But I don't think we're saying no to people who, you know, don't actually live here. But I'm sure that most of the participants in the actual memorial will be Bloomington residents," said Works.
The project has inspired memories and excitement among those involved.
"A lot of memories that I have over the years have come out with this experience, because what this has done is triggered all kinds of thoughts about this and that over the year, what it felt like to be on the enterprise when the Russians were there and there was a potential nuclear war at stake. And here we are now celebrating. The fact that we were there and that it shaped our lives," said Works.
The memorial will include a "seated classroom" area for visitors to reflect and learn from the stories shared.
What's next:
The groundbreaking ceremony will kick off the construction, and the goal is to dedicate the memorial by Veterans Day.
Organizers encourage veterans and families interested in participating to visit bloomingtonveteransmemorial.org for more information.
The Source: FOX 9’s Tim Blotz spoke with Bloomington Remembers Veterans, Inc. and U.S. Navy veteran Bob Works for this story.