Memorial Day Ceremony

Colonel Eric Ahlness, Director of Diversity and Inclusion for the Minnesota National Guard, will be the featured speaker at the Memorial Day Ceremony in Stillwater. The ceremony will take place at the Stillwater Veterans Memorial located at Third and Pine Streets, starting at 11:00 a.m. on May 27, 2013. 

Musical selections will be played by members of the Stillwater Concert Wind Symphony, directed by Dennis Lindsay. Representatives of the Armed Forces will place wreaths, and VFW and Legion members will offer a rifle salute. Names of service members whose pavers have been installed since last Memorial Day will be read. Members of the A & D, H & H and Last Man’s Club will be recognized, as will the most recent Minnesota casualties of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  

Featured speaker Colonel Eric Ahlness is part of Joint Force Headquarters, supervising implementation of diversity programs in the Army and Air Guard. Raised in Windom, Minnesota, he has served as company commander of a troop unit, and battalion commander of the Officer Candidate School headquartered at Camp Ripley, Minnesota. Col. Ahlness served in Bosnia in 2003-2004 as an Information Operations Officer, and was Government Relations Officer for six years prior to commanding the 58-member Minnesota Agribusiness Development Team which was deployed to Afghanistan from October 2011 to September 2012. He has served full-time with the Minnesota National Guard for more than 25 years. 

Colonel Ahlness’s wife, Lori Ahlness, is a retired Major with the Minnesota National Guard, board member for the Yellow Ribbon Network of Washington County, and president of the board for Veterans Campground on Big Marine Lake. They have one daughter and reside in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.

The Memorial Day Ceremony will take place rain or shine, with refreshments following. Limited seating will be available. 

The Stillwater Veterans Memorial honors veterans, living and deceased, with engraved pavers and a “Wall of Honor” which lists the names of service members who attended Stillwater area schools and lost their lives in time of war, from the Civil War to the present. 

Veterans Memorial Dedication

On Memorial Day 2004, the St. Croix Valley dedicated a Memorial that honors those who made the ultimate sacrifice, those who served honorably in the past, those who serve today, and future service men and women. The entire Veterans Memorial Committee wishes to thank all those who made this memorial possible through generous gifts and support. The Memorial will stand as a lasting tribute for generations to come.

PAVERS

Engraved granite pavers are available to honor any veteran of military service including personnel presenting serving in the military. Pavers also may be purchased to honor veterans who served in the Armed Forces of United States military allies. Three recipients of the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government, are honored with pavers:

Mary Edwards Walker (Civil War-Army), Mike Colalillo (WWII-Army) and Bernard J.D. Irwin (Civil War-Army). The cost of a paver is $300.

WALL OF HONOR

Names of all veterans from Stillwater area schools who died in service of their country are inscribed on the Wall of Honor around the base of the spire. A star on the paver indicates that the veteran’s name is on the Wall of Honor. Anyone may sponsor one of the Wall of Honor names. Each sponsor receives a personalized plaque. The cost of sponsorship is $300.