According to a letter Graff received from MN Dept. of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Larry Shellito, the MTF is working with county veterans affairs officers throughout the state to collect items of correspondence from each of the 87 counties. Excerpts from the letters selected will be etched onto the stones in the memorial, with one letter representing each county in the state.  Submissions must be sent only through the individual county veteran service offices, as individual submissions will not be accepted.

 

The purpose of the Story Stones is “providing a window into the lives of our military families and their sacrifices, as well as imparting a strong educational component for the Tribute,” Shellito wrote.

 

The MFT will span the entire width of the Veterans Service Building in St. Paul, and will consist of three elements, the Gold Star Table, the Story Stones exhibit and the Thank You Military and Veteran Family Walkway.  The MFT web site at http://militaryfamilytribute.org/ includes specific details and an artist’s rendering of the site, Shellito said.

 

Only the county names and the year of the correspondence will be included in the display, with no personal names attached.  Final selections will be made by the MFT jury.

 

The Sherburne County Veterans Service Office will be collecting submissions for inclusion on the county’s stone from now until Fri., Oct. 31, which is a firm deadline, Graff said.  The submissions can be from any time-frame, from the Civil War through the present day, and need not be from a conflict. They can be from a letter, telegram, e-mail or even a video, which can be transcribed onto the stone if selected.  Each county is asked to provide two or three pieces of correspondence for consideration.  For more information, contact the Sherburne County Veterans Service Office at (763) 765-3100.

 

Participants are asked to send a copy of the correspondence, rather than the original version, since the submissions cannot be returned.  Send materials to :  Eugene Graff, Veterans Service Office, Sherburne County Government Center, 13880 Business Center Dr., Elk River, MN 55330, or via e-mail at Eugene.graff@co.sherburne.mn.us.  The office phone is (763) 765-3100.

 

“The Minnesota Military Family Tribute (MFT) is a 501(c)3 organization with a mission to build a Tribute on the State Capitol Mall in St. Paul, MN that will forever stand as a thank you to every military and veteran family member – past, present and future.  A military or veteran family member is defined as a spouse, significant other, child, parent, grandparent, sibling, or any other person a soldier defines as family.”