Martin County Veterans Memorial Project

Martin County Veterans Memorial Project DONATIONS to the MCVM Project are appreciated. See company overview for more information on donati What is the MCVM Project? What is the Purpose?

A committee comprised of members of local veteran organizations, along with other interested civic groups and Martin County citizens. Specifically to raise funds, design and locate veteran memorials in the Martin County Seat of Fairmont, MN & the surrounding Martin County MN communities. The memorial will be located at 507 Winnebago Avenue in Fairmont, MN. Phase 1 of the memorial will include a re

d granite sign near the road marking the memorial location, a 70 ft. flagpole and a black granite wall bearing the etched names of the veterans who have called Martin County home. Phase 2 of the memorial project may include statues, benches, greenery and other elements to create a peaceful and respectful environment in which to honor and remember the armed service members who have sacrificed so much to preserve our freedom. Watch for further details regarding this phase of the memorial project.

Thomas Arthur Ruth was a WWII aviator. On June 30, 1943 his squadron was providing air support for battleships and assau...
05/27/2026

Thomas Arthur Ruth was a WWII aviator. On June 30, 1943 his squadron was providing air support for battleships and assault forces on Rendova Island. His aircraft was shot down along with another plane. Thomas’s aircraft crashed in the jungle and was lost. The other aircraft crashed in the sea and the pilot was recovered. Ruth’s plane crashed on Munda Island.
The crash site was found with human remains by Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) in 2013. His remains were positively identified in 2025 by DNA testing.
Ruth was from Jackson, Mn and was buried there in Riverside Cemetery this morning with full military honors from the Air Force and the Navy. The turn out was very impressive. I rode my motorcycle with the Patriot Guard Riders and the riders came from all over Minnesota and South Dakota. The fly over by a vintage WWII training aircraft was especially moving.
The Fairmont Fire Department sent a hook and ladder unit to display a huge American flag over the highway.
I ran into Dr Andy Ruth and his wife Janet, formerly of Fairmont, and was surprised to find that Lt Ruth was his uncle.
Beautiful ceremony and great to see closure for a family after 83 years. This is why we do Memorials to honor these brave men and women.
God bless Lt Ruth and his family.

Memorial Day Service at MCVM this morning. Great weather and a wonderful service by the Fairmont American Legion, Fairmo...
05/25/2026

Memorial Day Service at MCVM this morning. Great weather and a wonderful service by the Fairmont American Legion, Fairmont High School Cardinals marching band and the Girl Scouts.
Brad Finstad was the guest speaker.
The flowers sales generated $854 and with matching funds that total doubles to $1708. We have approximately $7200 in matching funds still an available.
Days like today make me prouder than ever to be an American citizen.

Don’t forget those who gave their lives for the freedoms we all enjoy. Lowered the flag to 1/2 mast this morning and put...
05/25/2026

Don’t forget those who gave their lives for the freedoms we all enjoy. Lowered the flag to 1/2 mast this morning and put the final touches on the Martin County Veterans Memorial for this mornings ceremony.
Selling red white and blue flowers for a free will donation for our new statue set at the Memorial until ceremonies begin. Your donations will be doubled by an anonymous donor. Flowers can be placed in red white and blue buckets by the wall. Thank you to HyVee for the generous donation of flowers.
Our engraver installed new names on the wall this past week. He also corrected etchings that were to be put on our Air Force bench. Hope you find your your veteran in the picture.
A special thank you to all of you who follow our page. We usually get 3000 to 15000 followers for each post.
God Bless America!

Southern Plains Education Cooperative Education Association showed up at Martin County Veterans Memorial today and combe...
05/23/2026

Southern Plains Education Cooperative Education Association showed up at Martin County Veterans Memorial today and combed the grounds cleaning every bit of trash and debris they could find. They did such a good job they found a missing dog from an old display that we now have under repair. Thank you SPECEA staff for thinking of our Memorial!

Memorial Day honors all US service personnel who have given their lives to protect the freedom our country’s citizens en...
05/22/2026

Memorial Day honors all US service personnel who have given their lives to protect the freedom our country’s citizens enjoy.
Celebrations take place all around our county celebrating these remarkable men and women who gave everything for all of us. Did you know that Purple Heart was the first medal to be given to a U.S. service member of any rank or that it is awarded to any military personnel who has been wounded or killed in enemy action? Did you know that President John F Kennedy was the only sitting president to receive the Purple Heart? Did you know that Vietnam veteran Curry T Hayes received the most Purple Hearts at the count of 10?
MCVM will be selling flowers to be placed around the Memorial site honoring those soldiers killed in action defending our country. They will be sold as a free will donation in order to purchase the pictured statue set seen here to be installed by this coming Veterans Day. We are close to achieving our goal but still need more funds to pay for this project. Anything you donate this weekend will be matched up to $8000 from an amazing anonymous donor who has already matched $12000. Flowers will be sold from 8AM until 10AM this Saturday morning and then again on Monday morning (Memorial Day) from 8AM until Memorial services begin. Stop this weekend and talk to me to get more information on our last project planned for our grounds. This statue set was basically designed by Terry Anderson and Nick Christianson (Brodin Studios). Terry was a Purple Heart recipient in Vietnam. The set honors women military nurses and wounded or KIA military combatants.
Enjoy your holiday weekend but please honor those that gave all. Thank you Hy Vee for the flower donation.

05/20/2026

I will be selling flowers at the Memorial this Saturday from 8AM until 10AM and again on Monday morning from 8AM until Memorial services begin to raise money for our new statue set honoring military nurses and Purple Heart recipients. Flowers are being sold for a free will donation and can be placed at various places around the Memorial. A big thanks to our local HyVee for the flower donation and their constant support of our counties Veterans.

05/20/2026

Just a reminder that HyVee is serving breakfast for free today from 6AM until noon to Veterans. Thank you for serving our counties Veterans.

05/12/2026

Cruising through the Badlands. Beautiful day.

AH1 helicopter presented very similar to ours. This one is in Chamberlin SD.
05/11/2026

AH1 helicopter presented very similar to ours. This one is in Chamberlin SD.

Important message, so please read and share if you are one of our many followers. The side walk around the rock at the h...
05/07/2026

Important message, so please read and share if you are one of our many followers.
The side walk around the rock at the helicopter has been poured. A frame that will display brass plaques honoring businesses that sponsored the helicopter restoration and dedication is presently being constructed and will be displayed on the back of the rock.
The base for the new statues to be displayed across from the Purple Heart rock has also been poured. A small pad has been poured flush to the sidewalk so people in wheelchairs can get closer to these statues.
Landscaping will also be completed around these two areas in the near future.
A new pad for a granite panel to add donor names will also be poured in the near future. We have run out of room on our regular donor wall and we want to honor all those generous donors who have helped make this project possible. The granite panel is being donated by our counties Veterans Service Office Doug Landstiener. Thank you Doug. Your contributions to our veterans is greatly appreciated.
A big thank you goes out to our local Hy Vee store for their support of all our veterans. This is the information I need you to remember and share. On Wednesday, May 20th, from 6 AM to noon, Hy Vee will be serving another breakfast for all veterans, just like they do every Veterans Day. This has been a wonderful event in the past and is always well attended.
Hy Vee is donating flowers to us also, that we will be using as a fund raiser on Memorial Day weekend at the Memorial. On Saturday morning, May 23, from 8AM until 10 AM and then again on Monday morning, May 25th, from 8 AM until the Memorial Day services begin we will be selling flowers that can be placed around the Memorial site in honor of individual veterans. Flowers will be sold for a free will donation. We have about $8000 in matching funds available, so anyone purchasing a flower, your purchase donation will double.
Again, thank you again Hy Vee for honoring veterans and supporting MCVM.
Please share and thank you for following MCVM.

Address

507 Winnebago Avenue, P. O. Box 623
Fairmont, MN
56031

Telephone

+15072383220

Website

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