Lakefront DMZ
In 1989, Doug Carlson, a State Representative from the Sandstone area, heard a Public Service Announcement on the radio regarding efforts to raise funds for a Vietnam memorial in Minnesota. He urged the State Legislature to come up with $300,000 for the project.
The competition guidelines proposed only two iron-clad design requirements. The memorial must be non-political. The second required that the names of the 1,092 Minnesotans killed in the war and the 42 who remained missing be “inscribed on a surface that is durable and touchable.”
The Committee selected the entry labeled “Lakefront DMZ,” created by a Minnesota team. “It stood out because of its use of Minnesota materials and its strong sense of place.” The team shared a $10,000 first place prize.
The Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board (CAAPB) sponsored a national competition in early 1990 to select a design for a memorial dedicated to those who served from Minnesota during the Vietnam War. Of the 217 entries, the winning entry, labeled “Lakefront DMZ,” was submitted by architect Rich Laffin and art professor/sculptor Stanton Sears, along with Stan’s two assistants Nina Ackerberg and Jake Castillo.
Rich and Stan, both of draft age, were strongly impacted by the war personally and hoped to better understand, through their conversations, the loss our nation endured, as well as the experience of veterans. Understanding that representation of those 1,120 Minnesotans killed and missing in action would differ fundamentally from the sheer impact the 68,000 names at the center of the national memorial (completed in 1982), the design focused instead on the place of communities from across Minnesota; on honor, valor, and service; and on our collective need to grieve.
Designs that were submitted to the contest in 1990
Rich and Stan worked for the next two and a half years with the Minnesota Vietnam Veterans Memorial (MVVM) board and a variety of State agencies to develop and refine the design, create construction documents, review the bids submitted, and work closely with James Steele Construction during 1992.
The Minnesota team accepting the award for “Lakefront DMZ.” Professor Roger Clemence of the U of M Architecture Department is on the left. From left to right are Nina Ackerberg, Stanton Sears, Jake Castillo, Rich Laffin, and Governor Arne Carlson.