August 27, 2021
As part of Mayville State University’s Farmers Bowl 2021 festivities, a special edition of the Ceremony of Remembrance at the Mayville State University Military Honor Garden is planned. The program will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 18 at the garden site located on the south lawn of the Edson and Margaret Larson Alumni and Leadership Center at Mayville State University. The ceremony will include the reading of the names of all who have been recognized in the garden. All alumni and friends are cordially invited to attend the ceremony and are asked to bring a lawn chair if they wish to be seated during the program.
This year’s Farmers Bowl is going to be a really big deal. Rodney Miller and Jann Carl, hosts of Small Town Big Deal, a television show that airs nationwide and has more than a million viewers each week, will be joining in the fun. Producers will be recording Farmers Bowl highlights for a future episode of the show. See all the details about Farmers Bowl 2021 at www.mayvillestate.edu/farmersbowl.
The Farmers Bowl Parade, which begins at 10 a.m. on Sept. 18, will go by the grounds of the Edson and Margaret Larson Alumni and Leadership Center, so those who attend the Ceremony of Remembrance will be able to see the parade without moving to a location downtown.
“We are grateful to the Anderson Hefta American Legion Post 93, Portland; the Leon Mosher American Legion Post 8 and VFW Post 4221, Mayville; and Vietnam Veterans of America NCP Chapter for their sponsorship of this special event,” said Beth Swenson, Mayville State Director of Alumni Affairs. “These groups have been super-supportive of the Military Honor Garden and have stepped up again for this very special occasion.”
Organizers of the Leon Mosher American Legion Post Avenue of Flags will be once again enhancing the beautify of the Military Honor Garden by adding a number of additional American flags to the setting.
The Military Honor Garden
The Military Honor Garden features a life-sized bronze eagle in flight sculpture, flags, night lighting, and gardens. All five branches of the military are represented on the granite centerpiece on which the eagle sculpture stands. This beautiful and meaningful project is a tribute to Mayville State employees, students, and friends, and community men and women for their patriotic service in America’s Armed Forces. The intent is to honor anyone who has served in the military. Those honored definitely can be, but do not have to be, Mayville State alumni.
Martin Johnson, 1966 Mayville State graduate and USMC Corporal, and Lieutenant General Emil “Buck” Bedard are heading up the Military Honor Garden project. These men have worked hard to ensure that the Military Honor Garden is an extra-special and meaningful tribute to those who bravely served, and continue to serve, to uphold our country’s liberty and freedom.
Many people have made gifts of $500 or more to the project so that they can have the name(s) of their loved ones engraved on granite plaques that are incorporated into the memorial walk. In addition, the late Valorie Brown, Cavalier, N.D., donated the amazing bronze statue depicting a life-sized bald eagle in flight in memory of her husband, David G. Brown, a 1971 graduate of Mayville State who passed away several years ago. Two beautifully engraved granite benches flank the eagle statue. One was donated by Dixie and Larry McGillis in honor of Dixie’s dad, Edwin, and his six brothers, all who served in World War II, and all who came home to Edmore, N.D. The second bench honors and remembers all American military recognized as KIA, POW, and MIA. The bench was provided by friends and teammates of Melville “Buzz” Lurth, Jr., who graduated from Mayville State in 1968 and was killed in Vietnam in 1969.
There is room for expansion at the Military Honor Garden. If you’d like to sponsor a granite plaque in honor of a loved one, please contact the MSU Foundation staff at alumni.mail@mayvillestate.edu or 701-788-4864 to learn more. You can also see more information and make your gift online at www.mayvillestate.edu/militaryhonorgarden. When you purchase an engraved plaque to be placed in the Military Honor Garden, a portion of the funds will be used to support a veterans scholarship fund at Mayville State.