Midwest Traveler: Rochester, Minn., has its own dramatic veterans memorial

Bells toll at noon from the nearby Mayo Clinic carillon as I join hospital workers in scrubs on a partly sunny summer afternoon to view the 2½-acre Soldiers Field Veterans Memorial in Rochester, Minn. Located in a city park that also sports a swimming pool, tennis court and softball field, the memorial is an enduring tribute to those who have served our country.

Modeled after the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., the black granite behemoth is dominated by the 12- by 50-foot Wall of Remembrance, which lists the approximately 3,000 service members from southeastern Minnesota who died as a result of injuries sustained in the military from the Civil War to the present day. (I wouldn't be a Minnesotan if I didn't notice there are plenty of Andersons, Johnsons and Olsons.)

The area is silent except for the sound of six flags behind the monument flapping in the breeze. They bear the insignias of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Merchant Marines.

The memorial was conceived at the 173rd Airborne Unit's reunion in 1995, and it is obvious that it was well planned. In addition to the Wall of Remembrance, the area also includes 50 blaze maple trees (one for each state) and four benches representing the four doomed flights on Sept. 11, 2001.

The inscription on another bench catches my eye: "Dedicated to the loved ones left on the homefront who are coping with stress and anxiety when a loved one is in harm's way."

Although estimates for the monument came in at more than $6 million, it was ultimately built for approximately $2 million thanks to donations of time, talent and materials from the community. It was funded completely by private donations and is maintained by a perpetual fund set up by a local memorial committee.

It is open year-round and illuminated at night.

They stretch from the beginning of our country to the present day:

1st Continental

William McCrillis

American Revolution

Union Army

Civil War

Army Nurse Corps

E.M. Betty Hopkins

World War II

Air Force

Vietnam

Dedicated in 2000, the memorial has enjoyed visits from many well-known Americans, including former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole. When Dole visited in 2006 and told former President Gerald Ford, who was at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester at the time, about the memorial, Ford requested on the way to the airport that his helicopter hover over the memorial.

Two cannons flank the memorial: a World War I cannon given to the city by the American Legion and an Iraqi anti-aircraft cannon given by the local army unit.

The exterior walls serve as a veritable history lesson, containing graphics of interest from the Civil War to the Gulf War, complete with intricate engravings of scenes including medics helping soldiers onto a helicopter in Vietnam and the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Markers show interesting facts relating to our state's history.

I look to the parking lot and spy an older couple stretching after getting out of a car with Iowa plates, parked next to a classic baby blue Chevrolet with California plates. Clearly this tribute draws people from across the country.

As I leave, I hear children squealing in delight on the playground across the street. Hopefully they will visit someday with their families or classmates and learn of the sacrifices of those who have gone before us.

Maybe they will stop to read the same quote I did:

"May God encourage those viewing this memorial to seek stories of others who served our country, for each story not told here is further evidence that freedom isn't free."

With its neon sign looming above downtown Rochester, the Kahler Hotel is nearing its 100th anniversary. Built in 1921 at the request of the Mayo brothers, the local icon is directly connected to the famous clinic and the 60-store Grand Shops complex (thekahler­hotel.com).

Rochester is about 85 miles southeast of the Twin Cities via Hwy. 52. Soldiers Field Veterans Memorial is located at 300 7th St. SW.

Pavers are available for purchase for $350 each (fully tax-deductible). Visit the website: ­soldiersfieldmemorial.org.

Sarah Johnson is a Minnesota-based freelance writer who covers history, sports, food and travel for a variety of publications.