CANNON FALLS, Minn. – Ground was broken for a veterans park that organziers say, at 95 acres, will be the largest of its type on the continent. Plans include:
> 11 war memorials, one for each war starting with the 1776 revolution. Includes a Hmong soldier War memorial.
> Athletic fields for league games and tournaments.
> A museum with military memorabilia and artifacts.
> A banquet hall and education center, 200,000-square feet with a 250-seat theater.
> A hotel.
> Several mikes of walking and biking trails
Phase One constructions begins this summer, organizers say.
Toufong Lor profile
The memorial is the work of Toufong Lor, an auto towing and salvage company in the north St. Paul suburb of Vadnais Heights, Lor is a retired U.S. Navy veteran of the Vietnam war. He created a nonprofit organization that purchased the land for the Cannon Falls project and is honchoing progress. The project, he says, was inspired by his father Xia Yeng Lor. who was born in Laos and worked as a crop and hog farmer before being recruited by the the US. intelligence agency in the early 1960s. Xia Yeng Lor was stationed on the highest peak in Laos to deter attacks on U.S. radar and communication infrastructure. He also rescued U.S. fighter pilots shot down in the region. During one mission he stepped on a landmine and was severely injured. Seven other Hmongs died. Lor lost a leg to amputation because of his injuries. In 1980 he immigrated his family of nine to Minneapolis.
Lor. The memorial was inspired by his father, a Hmong soldier for the United States in the Vietnam war.
Grand plan. A destination attraction at Cannon Falls.
Ground-breaking ceremony. Full milotary colors.