Monument is centerpiece of Richfield’s Veterans Park BY SUE WEBBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER Although he is not a veteran, Reed Bornholdt is chair of Richfield’s annual Memorial Day service at 2 p.m. on Monday, May 26, at Veterans Memorial Park, 6429 Portland Ave. S. “I grew up in a small town in Iowa where the Avenue of Flags was put up at the cemetery on the edge of town for Memorial Day,” Bornholdt said. “The high school band played and there was a speaker. That’s just what I’m used to.” One branch of the military is featured each year in the Memorial Day observance at Veterans Park. This year, the Merchant Marines will be honored. A veteran from the Merchant Marines will speak, the 34th Infantry Division Red Bull concert band will play a medley of songs from all branches of the service, a retired Navy chaplain will offer an invocation, and a rifle squad will perform before “Taps” is played. The ceremony is enhanced by the park’s Honoring All Veterans Memorial monument, which includes a special honor for one of Richfield’s best-known servicemen. The Honoring All Veterans Memorial monument was dedicated in 2008 in honor of Americans who have served their country in the U.S. military. A nonprofit task force worked to build
the memorial to honor the memory of U.S. military veterans from all branches and provide a place for people to reflect and thank those who have served, are serving or will serve. The memorial is funded by the sale of engraved names on granite tablets that face a bronze statue of longtime Richfield resident Charles Lindberg. One of the traditions each Memorial Day is to pass a wireless microphone around the audience and ask people to tell a story about someone whose name is engraved on the memorial, according to Jim Topitzhofer, Richfield’s recreation service director. “It’s an emotional and inspiring thing,” Topitzhofer said. The centerpiece of the monument features an illuminated bronze statue of Chuck Lindberg and the American flag. Lindberg, a 50-year resident of Richfield, was one of four U.S. Marines who were part of the first raising of the American flag on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. On the morning of Feb. 23, 1945, members of the 3rd Platoon, 28th Regiment, 5th Marine Division were given orders to climb and secure Mount Suribachi. Upon reaching the top, the Ma- The Honoring All Veterans Memorial monument is at Veterans Memorial Park, 6429 Portland rines raised the first American flag on Ave. S., Richfield. The centerpiece is an illuminated statue of Chuck Lindberg, a 50-year Richfield resident who was one of four U.S. Marines who were part of the first raising of the AmeriJapanese soil in the war. can flag on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. (Submitted photo) MONUMENT - TO PAGE 4