New license plate will honor Minnesotans killed in action

Mark Brunswick, Star Tribune

A group of veterans sits in the Capitol Rotunda Tuesday during a ceremony unveiling a new state license plate commemorating Minnesotans who have died in the military.

A new license plate will honor Minnesotans killed on active military duty.

By MARK BRUNSWICK, Star Tribune

Last update: September 22, 2009 - 8:22 PM

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Phillip Studer and his mother, Ellen Hanson, were among the first Tuesday to pick up applications for a new state license plate that will commemorate Minnesotans who have died on active military duty.

Army Staff Sgt. Brian Studer was killed in August 2008 in Afghanistan, and the plates will be a way to keep his memory alive -- not only for the family but for a country that sometimes forgets the sacrifices being made abroad.

"We wanted to be the first in line to get the plates to honor his memory," Phillip Studer said, wearing a pin with his brother's picture on it. "We don't have a lot of military presence in this state -- so out of sight, out of mind. This puts it in the forefront and people can ask questions."

The license plates were unveiled at the State Capitol.

"We know that words and symbols are inadequate but they are also important," said Gov. Tim Pawlenty during the ceremony. "We need to do all we can in public gatherings and ceremonies and laws and gestures to say we will never forget, we will always remember. We should do that with our words, we should do that with our symbols and we should do that with our deeds."

The "Gold Star Family" plates, authorized by the Legislature this year, will be available to any surviving spouse or parent of a soldier who has died. An effort is expected during the next legislative session that would allow siblings to obtain the plates as well.

"This is not the end, it's just the beginning," Phillip Studer said after the ceremony.

Forty states already issue the commemorative plates and Minnesota is among seven where they have been authorized but not yet issued.

The Gold Star families organization dates to World War I as a way to honor service members killed during that war. In 1928, a group of 25 mothers living in Washington created a national nonprofit called the American Gold Star Mothers Inc.

The cost of producing the plates will be paid for out of the "Support Our Troops" license plate account, which is funded by a $30 annual contribution that vehicle owners pay to display that slogan on their plates. Applications for the plates can be made by mail, at any state Driver and Vehicle Services registrar offices, or through www.mndriveinfo.org. Vehicles are subject to a standard registration fee, but the plates will carry no additional charge.

Mark Brunswick • 651-222-1636

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