Mower County Veteran Services is looking for the public’s help in representing the county at a new veterans memorial on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol Mall.

The office is seeking correspondence sent between military members and their families or friends from the Civil War through today. The correspondence is being collected for the Minnesota Military Family Tribute’s story stones, which will feature 87 boulders — one for each county in the state — that will be engraved with a portion from the letters collected in each county.

“I think it’s going to be a very cool [memorial],” Mower County Veterans Service Officer Wayne Madson said.

The story stones will feature a portion of the letters, but only with the name of the county and generic titles like mother, father, son and daughter and not actual names.

The memorial is designed to honor the families of active and veteran members of the military and will be the first of its kind in the nation. The tribute, being constructed along the the south end of the Minnesota State Capitol Mall, will also feature a gold star table and the Thank You Military and Veteran Family Walkway.

All letters must first be submitted to the Mower County Veteran Services office. The top three submissions will then be submitted to the state.

“We definitely want to get Mower County represented up there,” said Emergency Management Coordinator Amy Lammy, who also works in the Veteran Services office. “That’s our No. 1 goal is to get something from us.”

Letters can be dropped off or mailed to Mower County Veterans Services at 201 First St. NE by Nov. 5. After letters are received, they will be published online at www.austindailyherald.com, where people will be able to vote on the top three letters the week of Veterans Day, which is Nov. 11.

For more on the project, visit www.militaryfamilytribute.org.