World War I Plaque - Commemorative Work Modification Request

WWI plaque

Image. Court of Honor at the Minnesota State Capitol. 

On April 1, 2026, Michael Maxa, adjutant for the American Legion, Department of Minnesota, submitted an application to CAAPB to modify the existing World War I plaque at the Court of Honor on the Minnesota State Capitol grounds. CAAPB found the application complete on April 9, 2026. Review of the application is underway at CAAPB, following the process outlined in Minnesota Rules 2400.2703, Subpart 7. 

Description 

The modification seeks to make the plaque’s language more inclusive of military service personnel from Minnesota who trained for, but never saw, combat during the First World War. Mr. Maxa highlights in his application how the plaque’s explicit memorialization of the “57,413 Minnesotans” excludes over 50,000 US service members from Minnesota who trained for combat but were never deployed in this global conflict.  

Veterans in Minnesota began lobbying the State legislature over ten years ago to amend the plaques language considering this historical oversight. This effort culminated in the Minnesota State legislature’s authorization of the plaque’s modification in the spring of 2019 under H.F. 810. 

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