Dominique Claseman grew up hearing the stories of his father and other family who served in the US military, but his small town of Olivia, Minn., didn’t have a veterans' memorial. So two years ago, he decided that would be his Eagle Scout project. As word spread, people chipped in almost $77,000 and it became a family and a community project. His grandfather commented on his rough sketch; a local crew volunteered to pour concrete and his dad walked across the wet cement in his Army boots to make a walk of honor with 21 footprints; and he, his family and his Scout troop spent three weekends putting in the landscaping and installing 280 inscribed granite pavers along the walkway. When the memorial was dedicated this year on Memorial Day, several hundred people turned out to marvel at all the names. Marjorie Barber, 91, has 17 members of her family on the memorial. “We never had a place to remember our veterans before, so what Dominique did is really wonderful and uplifting for our town.”

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