By: Nina Huang

Are you a veteran? Or are you related to a veteran? Then you might have visited a veterans’ memorial honoring people who served the United States (or another country) during wartime.

A 17-year-old boy named Dominique Claseman, living in Olivia, Minnesota, found out that there was no veterans’ memorial in this town. He was also doing a public-service project for Eagle Scouts, so he decided to save two birds with one idea.

The Steps

Claseman comes from a long line of veterans, so he wanted to do something to honor them. “I told Dominique when he was starting to kind of talk about his Eagle Scout project that because he’s the Scoutmaster’s son that he needs to go big or go home,” Mark Jurgensen, Dominique’s father and the leader of the scout troop said. Claseman went to other communities and collected some inspiration. “I was originally picturing just a walkway with 21 boot steps and pavers on the side, along with a main stone and a couple flags,” Claseman said. The teen then realized that this was going to take a great deal of time and money, but it was worth it. He campaigned for his project by handing out flyers and speaking at events in the community. Everybody loved the idea, so instead of collecting his targeted amount of $15,000, he received $77,777! (In this case, the numeral 7 turned out to be lucky indeed.) When the memorial was finished, it hit big. Claseman’s favorite part was when his father walked 21 steps to the flag, wearing his military boots.

So, do you think Dominique Claseman lived up to his dad’s expectations?