Veterans Memorial Site in Bemidji Unveils New Monument on Veterans Day

November 11th was Veterans Day, a day for remembrance and recognition of everything that United States veterans have sacrificed. Among the many celebrations taking place yesterday was the unveiling of a new monument at the Bemidji Veterans Memorial next to the Beltrami County History Center.

“To have a place where we can show appreciation as a community, where veterans can come and remember, and where we can all just gather and acknowledge the sacrifices that our veterans have made, I couldn’t ask for anything more,” said Bemidji Mayor Jorge Prince, who spoke at the event and helped unveil the new piece.

The purpose of the site is not only to have a place to reflect on the past, but also to learn about history.

“History isn’t always kind, but it’s not bad, either,” explained Bemidji Veterans Memorial Chairman Greg Guggenberger. “And it’s who we are, it’s what we went through. People shouldn’t forget it. Our society is slipping that way, I feel.”

To try and combat this, the Memorial Chair Members unveiled the special piece, where that history is literally written in stone. There are already many large pieces at the memorial, but those are all made of sandstone. The newest addition is made of granite.

“Granite’s just neat,” stated Guggenberger. “And you see it a lot of – back in Washington, down in the Cities, a lot of the veterans’ stones at the Capitol are granite.”

“To have something that was first class that really spoke to our veterans and, you know, showed the right kind of honor and respect, and so they were working on it for a good number of years,” Prince explained. “So to see it here, now, what a testament to their perseverance and to just the way our entire community partnered.”

Shared experiences connect people, so when organizers undertook this project, it was important to have actual veterans involved in every step of the process.

Guggenberger added, “When I talked to the designer – and he’s a 10-year veteran, so he’s in that mindset – it was a Friday. And on Monday he sent that back, and I thought, ‘holy mackerel, that’s just perfect for what we have.'”

Not only was the planning process for the project very close to home, but every step along the way was as well. The stone itself came from Minnesota, and the memorial was paid for by community fundraising and donations. The site is only one small token of appreciation to say thank you to all veterans for their service.

The Veterans Memorial also includes pavers on the ground, which can be purchased and engraved with a veteran’s name so they, too, can be a permanent part of the memorial.