At the 2013 State of Minnesota Veterans Day event, a crowd of over 400 Minnesotans gathered to honor all who have served.

This year, the event was kicked off with an early addition of the Minnesota Military Radio Show, with host Tom Lyons and a variety of special guests, including Commissioner Larry Shellito, Maj. Gen Rick Nash, and Minnesota Secretary of State, Mark Ritchie.

The event, hosted by the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs and the Minnesota Commanders' Task Force was held at the Veterans Memorial Community Center in Inver Grove Heights. Veterans were honored for their service with a free community breakfast and a program featuring Gov. Mark Dayton as the keynote speaker.

In addition to the Governor, there was a strong showing of support from our congressional and state legislative leaders at this years' program. U.S Senator Amy Klobuchar and U.S Representative Betty McCollum gave remarks about the importance of Veterans Day. Miss Minnesota 2013 Rebecca Yeh played God Bless America on the violin, and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Inver Grove Heights Mayor, George Tourville. Patriotic music was played by the 34th ID "Red Bull" band Brass Quintet.

Pictures of the event are posted on the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs Flickr Page.