FORT SNELLING, Minn. — Memorial Day found Minnesotans gathered at sites across the state to thank veterans and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their fellow Americans. The largest ceremony took place at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in the Twin Cities.
Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar were among the leaders who spoke to a crowd of hundreds, most of whom spent much of the ceremony fending off rain with umbrellas.
Walz, who served 24 years in the Army National Guard, said the rain served as a reminder of the conditions service members braved in wartime fighting our nation's enemies without the comforts of home.
"It becomes now more important than ever that we, the living, remember those sacrifices, remember those heroes, remember those names you heard said," Gov. Walz remarked.
"Our job is to go remember the names, but to remember what they fought for."
The service also served to mark the 80th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day on June 6, 1944.
"The beaches of Normandy became a scene of unimaginable carnage," Patrick Kelly, the director of the VA Minneapolis Health Care System, told the crowd.
"We owe a debt of gratitude to these warriors whose selfless actions changed the course of history and ensured the survival of liberty in the face of tyranny."
Sen. Amy Klobuchar talked about efforts to recognize Minnesotans for their heroic actions in World War II and other wars. She also spoke of the determination of the family of John Anderson, who was killed in his landing craft on D-Day.
"While he was in the engine room, an enemy shell struck that part of the ship, killing him instantly," Klobuchar said.
"For 70 years, his family never knew what happened to him. They were told his remains were washed out to sea, but his nephew did some research and they found him in an unmarked grave in Normandy."
Major Lisa Anderson, who is unrelated to John Anderson, told of ongoing efforts by military forensic scientists to identify the remains of fallen service members who were placed in common graves with other unidentified soldiers, sailors and airmen killed in action.
Anderson, who works at the Defense POW-MIA Accounting Agency in Hawaii, said the team recently identified the remains of Washburn High School graduate Joseph Cash. He survived the Bataan Death March in the Philippines but died of malaria and dysentery in a Japanese prison camp.
"By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, approximately 2,800 Americans had died at Cabanatuan," Anderson said.
She said Cash's body was placed in a mass grave by his Japanese captors and later reinterred in a U.S. military gravesite. The work continues to match those remains with surviving families through enhanced DNA techniques.
"We take great pride in the fact that during fiscal year 2023 we successfully accounted for 158 DOD personnel, a clear testament to our resolute dedication to offering closure to the families and honoring the legacy of our fallen heroes."
There was a special shoutout to World War II veteran Ronald Zabrok, a Saint Paul native who joined the Navy in 1943 at the age of 18. He said he’d hoped to be a US Marine like his two older brothers.
“I was going to go in the Marines. My two older brothers were there. Do you know why they wouldn’t take me? I couldn’t make it to 125 pounds!”
He spent the war aboard the USS Rotanin, which carried troops and cargo into the hot spots in the Pacific Theater. Zabrok noted that the Rotanin was one of two ships University of Minnesota alumnus Tom Heggen served on before going on to write the celebrated novel "Mister Roberts."
Zabrok was called back to duty for the Korean War, and after he left the Navy he settled in Ontario, Canada where he met his wife.
At age 99, he’s the last living member of the Rotanin crew, and one of dwindling number of World War II veterans. He said these ceremonies are an important part of passing history along to younger generations.
"It’s important, so people can get to understand what really happened during the war and everything. So, it makes a big difference!"
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