Ft. Snelling Hosts First Big Memorial Day Ceremony Since Pandemic Began
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The rain didn't stop people from heading out to Fort Snelling National Cemetery Monday morning for Minnesota's special Memorial Day ceremony.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz spoke on the importance of the day.
"The people who lie here literally stood in the face of tyranny and potentially the loss of our entire freedoms and they stood it down," he said. "Sometimes against odds that could not have been calculated – and they did it for people they will never know, never see."
RELATED: Volunteers Place More Than 200,000 American Flags At Ft. Snelling Cemetery
Sen. Amy Klobchar was also there. She spoke about how much this day means to her, especially after the loss of her dad, a veteran.
"For me, this is really a special day Memorial Day because it's the first ceremony that I've attended as your senator since my dad died and he's buried right over there," she said. "So I think he's watching us right now."
Volunteers got together to place more than 200,000 American flags on the grave sites at Fort Snelling Cemetery.
It's part of an effort called "Flags for Fort Snelling," which started six years ago. The flags will stay up through the day before more volunteers will head out to take them all down.