How much of this was tax payer dollars? (Minneapolis, St. Paul: city hall, neighborhood)

[Govie]

It's finally happening. For 10 years, they sold tacos and other food at events, organized fundraisers, sold pavers with names of veterans and engaged in gentle arm-twisting here and there.

Michael Medina and about 20 colleagues from the Mexican American Veterans Post No. 5 in St. Paul stood Thursday on a patch of Harriet Island and watched as the mayor and other municipal muck-a-mucks broke ground for the American Veterans Memorial Plaza de Honor.

"It took a while, but it's a good day," Medina, 72, a Vietnam War combat veteran, told me after the event.

We Americans have a somber fascination with erecting memorials as a way to remember, particularly when it comes to veterans and those who died tragically.

Loved ones use paper and pencil at the new ground zero memorial to record the engraved names of those who perished in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. Minnesotans are no exception. There are hundreds of memorials and monuments dedicated to war veterans throughout the state.

The small town of Appleton has three alone. Red Wing has four. Ditto White Bear Lake. The Boise Forte Band of Chippewa dedicated one this year at its northern Minnesota reservation to honor fallen warriors.

Minneapolis has three, as does the Saintly City: memorials in St. Paul City Hall; a memorial to the USS Swordfish submarine of World War II in Como Park; and memorials on the state Capitol grounds.

LATINO WAR HEROES

The city will now have a fourth memorial, dedicated to all American veterans, but one with a decidedly Latino flavor.
"We are sort of the forgotten veterans," said Medina, an architect whose father, Joseph, 97, served in the Pacific theater during WWII. "But our service goes back to the Revolutionary War. We even have a Latina serve with the Confederacy. She dressed up as a man, though unfortunately she picked the wrong side to fight."

Latinos make up the largest minority group serving in the armed forces. There are at least 39 Medal of Honor recipients of Latino descent.

Some of the notable Latino soldiers include Medal of Honor winner Army Master Sgt. Roy Benavidez, who saved the lives of eight Green Berets despite suffering numerous wounds during a firefight in Vietnam in 1968.

There's also Marine Guy "Gaby" Gabaldon, awarded the Navy Cross. Raised by a Japanese-American family in Los Angeles, he single-handedly persuaded more than 1,000 Japanese soldiers and civilians to surrender at Saipan during WWII. His exploits inspired the movie "Hell to Eternity." In his autobiography, Gabaldon noted that even though his two "Japanese" brothers also served, his foster parents still were removed to an internment camp.

Still, the service of Latino Americans is largely unknown, one reason why Ken Burns' documentary on WWII - not mentioning or profiling any Latinos - sparked a wave of controversy in America's Latino community. Burns later relented and attached interviews with two Latino WWII veterans and a Native American one, but well after the superbly done documentary initially aired.

"That kind of underlined the lack of awareness or knowledge," Medina said, adding that he hopes the memorial will help close that gap, at least locally.

Medina, an architect who designed the plaza, said heavy winter snowfall and spring flooding delayed the Harriet Island groundbreaking for a year. As a result, the initial $250,000 price tag has gone up by $30,000 because of rising construction costs.

"We hope to at least get the foundation done by next month," he said. He stresses that the memorial is a tribute to all American veterans, particularly those with roots in St. Paul's West Side neighborhood.

"We have members at the post that are not Mexican-Americans but have ties to the neighborhood," he said. "It's also a tribute to St. Paul, a city that always was open to accepting immigrants, and on the West Side, the epicenter for Mexican-American migration dating back to the early 1900s."

Viva la plaza.

Ruben Rosario can be reached at rrosario@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5454.

Ruben Rosario: St. Paul memorial will give Latino veterans the honor they deserve - TwinCities.com

[moving123456]

Well the story that you posted says "For 10 years, they sold tacos and other food at events, organized fundraisers, sold pavers with names of veterans" for at least part of the money to cover it.

The St. Paul website doesn't give specific numbers, but says.....

The project is being funded through a series of grants and one-time funding allocated through a partnership with the City of Saint Paul, the American Veterans – Mexican American Post #5 and US Bank.

City of St. Paul, MN - Official Website (http://www.stpaul.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?aid=1296 - broken link)

[Govie]

Originally Posted by moving123456

Well the story that you posted says "For 10 years, they sold tacos and other food at events, organized fundraisers, sold pavers with names of veterans" for at least part of the money to cover it.

The St. Paul website doesn't give specific numbers, but says.....

Interesting. Kind of fuzzy language (I think) but thanks for the info.

[Glenfield]

If you're a St. Paul resident, you can call your city council person and ask. If you're not, then why are you concerned?

[Govie]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

If you're a St. Paul resident, you can call your city council person and ask. If you're not, then why are you concerned?

Ummm, I AM a St. Paul resident, since I was born. But even if I wasn't, it's just more government waste in a time of hardship not seen for 60 years.

[spectre000]

Here's another article from the Star Tribune.

Groundbreaking for a memorial to vets in St. Paul | StarTribune.com

"The $265,000 project is being funded primarily through grants and private donations."

I doubt any police or firemen were laid off to pay for this wonderful tribute to our veterans (myself included). I look forward to seeing and visiting this memorial once it's finished.

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by Govie

Ummm, I AM a St. Paul resident, since I was born. But even if I wasn't, it's just more government waste in a time of hardship not seen for 60 years.

Since it hasn't been established how much government money went into the memorial, it seems kind of hard to gauge whether or not it was a significant use of resources. As a St. Paul resident, you are in the perfect position to find this out and, if your suspicions are borne out by your fact finding mission, you can lead the charge against these wasteful politicians at the ballot box.

If this were happening in Minneapolis, I would probably be able to find plenty of other things to call wasteful before I decided to criticize a veterans' memorial. The cause doesn't seem to be a bad one, the vets raised at least some if not all of the money themselves, and the amount involved is likely to be pocket change in the grander scheme of things.

But everyone has their own windmill. Let us know what you find on what the actual cost to government was.

[Camden Northsider]

$265K is not a lot of money for a capital project, and all available info points to that funds were raised privately. But even if that weren't the case, how is this not a worthy cause for tax dollars? Is it because of the focus on Latinos' service to the country that has otherwise not been part of the 'memorial discourse' (or are you referring to the many other multi-million dollar projects throughout the state referenced in the article)? There are a number of long-time Hispanic/Latino families in St. Paul/the Cities that have several generations of veterans among their ranks- besides serving their country for generations, these families (and their neighbors) have similarly been paying taxes for generations. I think it's unfortunate (and possibly "un-American"?) that you would deem this hard-fought (via fundraisers, and of course, fighting in actual wars) tribute "wasteful spending".

[audadvnc]

Govie's complaining about government spending on a war memorial. That's what passes for patriotism these days...

[Govie]

Originally Posted by Camden Northsider

$265K is not a lot of money for a capital project, and all available info points to that funds were raised privately. But even if that weren't the case, how is this not a worthy cause for tax dollars? Is it because of the focus on Latinos' service to the country that has otherwise not been part of the 'memorial discourse' (or are you referring to the many other multi-million dollar projects throughout the state referenced in the article)? There are a number of long-time Hispanic/Latino families in St. Paul/the Cities that have several generations of veterans among their ranks- besides serving their country for generations, these families (and their neighbors) have similarly been paying taxes for generations. I think it's unfortunate (and possibly "un-American"?) that you would deem this hard-fought (via fundraisers, and of course, fighting in actual wars) tribute "wasteful spending".

And of course I was just asking. No need to get snippy. If it was legitimate than I have no problem with it. M'kay?