A Gold Star Memorial Monument will be erected at Veterans Memorial Park in Sioux Falls.
Local Sioux Falls leaders are dedicating the monument to Gold Star families, who have lost a loved one defending their country. The ceremony was held in an armory due to weather conditions.
Ninety similar monuments have been erected with 85 projects currently in the works across 50 states. A Gold Star Monument is also being erected in Sturgis.
Dan Wagner, a Gold Star family member, lost his brother in Iraq. He says the day he learned of his family’s loss, he became a member of the Gold Star family.
"It was and is an organization that I do not want to belong to and wish I was not a member of, but one I am immensely proud of," Wagner said. "That sounds contradictory, but so spot-on for my family as I suspect it is for all those who are Gold Star family members."
The monument is expected to be finished before Labor Day with a dedication scheduled for Sept. 26.