Service

November 12, 2009| Posted in ISSUES, Videos


Minnesotans have distinguished themselves in military service since shortly after statehood, when the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry mustered out of Fort Snelling and played the pivotal role, at enormous human cost, in the Union Army’s victory at Gettysburg.

The four major wars of the last century claimed just under 10,000 Minnesota lives. And something close to 250,000 Minnesotans served.

Monuments and memorials all around our state honor the courage and the sacrifice of the men and women who defended our freedoms and our way of life. And for most our lifetimes, we’ve set aside the 11th day of November for a recognition.

But our duty to Minnesota’s veterans is very much part of our present. Over 400,000 veterans and their families now live in Minnesota. and more than 15,000 Minnesotans currently serve in our military. Many will return home only after surviving brutal armed conflict 7000 miles away.

They will come back to Minnesota in need of basic health care and social services, community support, educational opportunities, and above all state and local leadership that values what they have done and what they can do now in their communities.

I’m proud to have played a part in honoring military service. Fighting in the legislature to make sure that homeless veterans get the help that they need. And advocating so that returning vets get rapid job training, building on skills they learned in the service to help serve our communities.

And if you look, there’s something else to see here. As I helped dedicate this site in Richfield on a windy afternoon this past Memorial Day, I was struck by how these enduring symbols of our civic sentiment are not just about the past, but also about our investment in future generations, in the future of our state, and in our country.

We belong to something larger than ourselves: to a family, to a community, and to a country. And that belonging is more than just about identity and privilege but also about responsibility and service.

We must always work to make our communities and our state something worth serving, and something that continues to be worth believing in.