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State Representative Matt Dean
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-3018
For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520
NEWS COLUMN
Memorial Day Remarks at the Disabled Veterans Rest Camp of Minnesota
Growing up, Memorial Day meant going to my Grandpa's house to celebrate what he called Decoration Day. He has a World War Two vet, which meant he did not talk about the war. So, as far as my brothers and I were concerned, Memorial Day was a date set aside each spring for children all across the country to wade into freezing water and put their grandpa's dock in.
The day is as, all of you know, one of the most sacred and important days of remembrance. The day began informally after the Civil War, and when our state was only ten years old, General John Logan decreed that the graves of fallen civil war soldiers be “adorned with the choicest of springtime flowers.” Logan wrote: “Let us rise above them the dear flag they saved; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledge to aid and assist those whom they have left among us; a sacred trust upon the nation's gratitude.”
Although the day is to remember those fallen, it has always been even more about – in General Logan's words – those whom they have left among us. That sacred trust is carried out here today at the Disabled Veterans Rest Camp just as it has for the past 83 years.
Seven years before General Logan wrote those words, several young men from Stillwater answered President Lincoln's call for volunteers. Minnesota's First was the first in the country to organize. At the battle of Bull Run they suffered more casualties than any other federal regiment; at Gettysburg, outnumbered 5:1, they charged confederate soldiers to hold the line. After a brutal battle, they suffered a casualty rate of 83%, the highest in our nation's military history. The battlefield flag fell five times and each time it was picked up by another soldier; the final time by one of the boys of Stillwater. Because the flag directed the troop movement, its bearer was a target of enemy fire. The flag of the Minnesota First never retreated in any battle nor was given up to the Confederates.
After World War I, Decoration Day was reintroduced to honor the fallen soldiers of all wars. In 1926, this camp was formed to aid and assist veterans of the First World War. Many suffered from what was then known as shell shock, the signature injury if that war, now known as PTSD.
Since 1926 the DVRC has carried out the sacred trust of a grateful nation to aid and assist those whom they have left among us. For a time, it looked like this place might go away with the old vets. But thanks to your hard work and tenacity, it is here to help veterans from a new war with new challenges.
Because of better training, safer vehicles, body armor and rapidly advancing battlefield medical techniques, soldiers are surviving catastrophic attacks that were un-survivable only a few short years ago. The injury to death rate in Iraq is 16:1, compared to 3:1 in World War Two. That means we have a significant number of veterans reintegrating with challenges we have not seen before. The nature of catastrophic blast injuries has created the signature injury of this war traumatic brain injury, often accompanied by stroke.
The DVRC stands ready to aid and assist these returning veterans. Improvements you have made to the camp make it more accessible and enjoyable for veterans with significant disabilities. New cabins, commons areas and even the dock and pontoon are wheelchair accessible.
We all hope that the current spirit of public support and cooperation continues into the future. If it should wane, current legislation and future volunteers will be here no matter what because it is vital that the important work of this camp live on beyond you who have saved it.
One of the first pieces of legislation I worked on was Senator Vandeveer’s bill to protect the camp from eminent domain. Actually Ray (and if you know his passion about the camp it will not be a surprise) didn't give me much of a choice. Since then, I have had the privilege of meeting our active troops in training at Camp Ripley, deployment ceremonies, and reintegration.
I have had the honor to see the very best in our community through the works of the veterans. From here at the camp, to our VFWs and Legions, and to new organizations like the Military Family Support League set up just a few short years ago by a Stillwater doctor and his patient who wanted to help the families of deployed soldiers.
Thank you for inviting my family to share this day with you each year. Thank you for sharing your stories with my three kids. Thank you for teaching them the meaning of this day. Thank you for demonstrating a respect for the military. Their childhood memories of Memorial Day will be of your stories and this beautiful place.
As we pray for fallen comrades, we also pray that God may continue to abundantly bless the work of the veteran’s camp.
As we honor those who gave – as Lincoln said – “their last full measure,” let me close by thanking you for all you do to help aid and assist those whom they have left among us. You truly do honor the sacred trust of a grateful nation.
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