Workers, veterans remembered at Memorial Day events

Workers Memorial
Artist Craig David (right) designed the new mural at the Minnesota Workers Memorial Garden on the state Capitol grounds, Monday, May 30, 2016.
Solvejg Wastvedt | MPR News

Former vice president Walter Mondale and Minnesota officials gathered Monday to dedicate part of a workers' memorial on the state Capitol grounds.

A new mural at the Workers Memorial Garden depicts laborers throughout the state's history. Mondale joined past Minnesota AFL-CIO president David Roe and Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith for the dedication.

"What we're celebrating today is all that working men and women have meant to our state from our beginning until today and into the future," Mondale said, "And we're very glad that Minnesota is the kind of state that would recognize this great contribution to us all."

The Workers Memorial Garden was built in 2010. Legislators approved funding for the mural in 2014. The memorial is near other monuments honoring military veterans.

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"This mural pays tribute to countless Minnesotans whose hard work over the last 158 years have built the state of Minnesota," Smith said. "And for those who have died in service to our incredible state, we pay tribute to them as well today."

Workers Memorial
Former vice president Walter Mondale and Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith spoke at the dedication of a mural at the Minnesota Workers Memorial Garden, Monday, May 30, 2016.
Solvejg Wastvedt | MPR News

The large cut-stone mosaic represents different types of workers along with specific Minnesotans, including civil and workers' rights pioneer Nellie Stone Johnson, doctors William and Charles Mayo and their chief anesthetist, Alice Magaw.

The mural's artist Craig David also designed similar works at Target Field, the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center, and various locations throughout Minnesota.

Other Memorial Day events honored men and women in uniform. At Fort Snelling National Cemetery, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar paid tribute to women.

Klobuchar told the story of Betty Strohfus of Faribault who died earlier this year.

A pilot, Strohfus wasn't allowed to fly planes in World War II herself, but she trained men who went into combat.

"And she did it with a lot of spunk," Klobuchar said of Strohfus.

And even after coming home to Minnesota, she couldn't get a job as a commercial pilot. Klobuchar recognized Strohfus' efforts to make sure Women Airforce Service Pilots aren't forgotten.

"She made sure decades ago by going to Washington that they were considered veterans," Klobuchar said. "And literally about two months after her death, the bill was signed that guaranteed that the remaining WASPS could be buried at Arlington."

Memorial Day at Fort Snelling
American flags sit beside thousands of headstones at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, May 30, 2016.
Riham Feshir | MPR News

The somber memorial continued with more tributes, prayers and families placing flowers at grave sites.

Joe Kelly, an Iraq war veteran and state director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, recognized the thousands of U.S. soldiers who've died while fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. Kelly reflected on more than 30 years serving in the Army, reaching the rank of brigadier general before he retired from the military.

"I never met a single soldier who wanted to die for this country," Kelly said. "I was privileged to serve alongside countess young men and women who were willing to do whatever was necessary to the point of making the ultimate sacrifice"