Details are available now on how people can vote on naming the new Collier County veterans' nursing home.

The Florida Department of Veterans Affairs is teaming up with Collier County to get public input on a name. The state is suggesting one of 13 deceased Medal of Honor recipients should have his name on the nursing home.

Officials will break ground this summer on the 120-bed facility, to be built on the site of the former Golden Gate Golf Course.

Collier County government had worked hard for years to get funding for some kind of facility for local veterans. The nursing home is supposed to open in late 2028 or early '29.

March 25 is National Medal of Honor Day, designated by federal law for more than 30 years. The medal is given to those who show valor in combat above and beyond the call of duty. It is the highest honor given to a military service member.

Here is the link to vote for one of 13 medal recipients. Each has a tie to Florida, either through birth or by military training or service in the state.

https://forms.monday.com/forms/b1a9496861562e70a2ec200693283899?

This link shows up at the top of the collier.gov website as of the morning of March 25.

The voting will remain open for the next few weeks, according to information supplied at the Collier Board of County Commissioners meeting on March 24. You don't have to live in Collier to vote for one of the 13.

The state has said that it may give some preference to a medal recipient with strong Southwest Florida ties. The 13 men served in the military from World War I to the War on Terrorism in Afghanistan in the 2000s.

Later this spring top officials at veterans affairs will choose one name. The governor's cabinet is supposed to approve a name at its meeting in June.

Mike Walcher is a reporter with WGCU News. He also teaches Journalism at Florida Gulf Coast University.