ST. PAUL (AP) - Organizers are expecting a big crowd next weekend for the dedication ceremony for the new state memorial to World War II veterans.

More than 20,000 people are expected to come to the Capitol Mall in St. Paul for the ceremony, a conservative estimate if you ask organizer Pat Turgeon, who works for the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. She said about 25,000 people attended a similar event in South Dakota a few years back.

"This is a really big deal," Turgeon said. "I'm getting calls every day from guys who say they'll be here Saturday come hell or high water. … I won't be surprised if we get 50,000 if the weather is good."

Saturday will be the realization of years of work for Turgeon and Minnesota's World War II veterans. The Legislature gave approval for the memorial in 2000, and a private fundraising effort raised the money for the $1.38 million project. It features 10 glass panels, each 8 feet tall, in an ellipse surrounding a map of Minnesota. The memorial does not list the Minnesotans who died in the war, but does commemorate the 326,000 who served in the military at the time.

"We have waited 62 years for this," said Michael Horan, an 82-year-old World War II veteran from St. Paul, who served on the memorial's advisory board. "With the way that veterans are dying off, this could be our last chance to be honored."

To buoy attendance, the state will pay mileage reimbursement to groups that bus World War II veterans to the event and to the veterans who drive or get rides.

"This is very unusual for this type of gathering," State Veterans Affairs Commissioner Clark Dyrud said.

Everything starts at 10 a.m. with a roll call of 6,284 Minnesota military members who died during the war. Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Vessey and WWII chaplain Delbert Kuehl will be featured speakers.

"It's going to be a great celebration, one that will mean so much to veterans and their families," Dyrud said.

Free samples of Spam, which fed so many during the war, will be given out and displays featuring WWII-era music, newsreels and films will also be part of the festivities.