By: Allen Zhu

17-year-old Dominique Claseman built a memorial for veterans. He lives in Olivia, Minnesota. Olivia is a small town that didn’t have a veterans memorial in it, despite the fact that it is filled with people who served in wars. Claseman’s family is also filled with soldiers. His father and grandfather both served in the military.

“It’s just never-ending,” Claseman said about his family’s roots in the military.

Claseman decided that he would build a veteran’s memorial himself, and started a fundraiser to raise at least $15,000. Later, his goal skyrocketed, and he raised exactly $77,777.

It’s surprising that a 17-year-old could build a whole memorial! “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,” Claseman’s father, Mark Jurgensen said.

Now, the town has a proper memorial to remember those who served in the army and other branches of the military.

Sources:https://www.npr.org/2022/08/07/1115439580/veterans-memorial-fundraiser-minnesota-eagle-scouts