2025 Mike Colalillo Medal of Honor Scholarship Recipient Announced

Ely Young of Hermantown Awarded 2025 Mike Colalillo Medal of Honor Scholarship by the St. Louis County Historical Society 

The St. Louis County Historical Society is pleased to announce the winner of its 2025 Mike Colalillo Medal of Honor Scholarship. Mr. Young wrote his winning essay about his great aunt, Shirley Hedin (nee, Armstrong), who landed on the cover of LIFE Magazine in 1943 as part of the Women’s Land Army. Ely Young, a 2023 Hermantown High School graduate, is a junior at UMD pursuing a degree in Business.  He currently lives with his family in Hermantown.  

Mr. Young will be recognized and receive his award at the 20th Annual Remembrance Dinner, a special event dedicated to honoring our nation's history and service members, on December 4th at 5:00 pm at the St. Louis County Depot. Tickets are available online at https://tinyurl.com/mtt9arys.

Harvesting for Victory: Shirley’s Wartime Story  

At 17, Duluth Central High School graduate Shirley joined the Women’s Land Army (WLA) to help harvest crops during World War II. While she and eight other Duluth women were working on farms near Fairmont, Minnesota, a LIFE magazine photographer captured her image—leading to her appearance on the magazine’s September 1943 cover. The WLA, along with the Victory Farm Volunteers, mobilized young women to replace the millions of farmworkers who left to serve in the war. To help write his essay, Ely Young researched his Great Aunt Shirley’s letters archived in the Albert J. Amatuzio Research Center within the St. Louis County Historical Society’s Veterans Memorial Hall Program. 

Each year, the Veterans Memorial Hall invites High school seniors and college students with a physical connection to St. Louis County, Minnesota, to apply for the $1,500 Mike Colalillo Medal of Honor Scholarship.  

Mr. Colalillo was the last known surviving World War II Medal of Honor recipient in the State of Minnesota. He was born and raised in St. Louis County, attended Duluth Denfeld High School and dropped out of school when his mother died so he could help support the family. Following the war, Mr. Colalillo and his wife raised three children in Duluth, Minnesota. 

The St. Louis County Historical Society (SLCHS) and Veterans Memorial Hall (VMH) invite the community to the 20th Annual Remembrance Dinner, a special event dedicated to honoring our nation's history and service members. 

The evening will feature local icon Dave Anderson (Northern News Now, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary), who will deliver the keynote address sharing his powerful interviews with local Pearl Harbor survivors. The dinner’s purpose is to continue to remember December 7th, 1941—the "Day that will live in Infamy"—84 years ago.