Like the other 49 states in the Union, Iowa gets the honor of designing its own state quarter and putting its own unique signature on the tails side of thousands of coins. Leave it up to Iowans to turn something as innocent as quarter design into a raging controversy.

In a scientific study of my laundry money, I concluded that most states either chose a famous natural or cultural feature or historical event, and many of them have an outline of the state along with a motto.

For example, Kentucky features horses, Ohio features flight and New York has a splendid physical map of the state with the Statue of Liberty shining over it all. These choices, like the Georgia peach, seem to make sense because they are widely recognized as quintessential state features and something considered representative of the entire state.

Obviously, the story of a state and its people can hardly be told in 25 cents, but the state quarters are a way to highlight the features of all 50 states. So what is going on the Iowa quarter? An ear of corn? A hog confinement? Herbert Hoover? Grant Wood’s “American Gothic”?

Governor Vilsack will make a decision in August this year on the quarters that will go into circulation in 2004. However, the proposal with a great deal of organized support is for a quarter with the Sullivan brothers.

If you instantly recognized the moniker of Iowa’s most famous World War II veterans, congratulations. You are probably either a member of the “Greatest Generation”, a native of the Waterloo area or a killer student in your sixth-grade Iowa history class.

For those who don’t fit that demographic, the Sullivans were five brothers from Waterloo who signed up for the U.S. Navy together after America joined WWII. The brothers volunteered so they could get the same assignment, and were all killed aboard the U.S.S. Juneau in November of 1942 during the battle

of Guadalcanal.

The Sullivan family’s sacrifice during WWII was widely recognized as one of the greatest sacrifices during the war. They have since been honored with a conference center, memorials and parks.

The rationale behind putting the Sullivans on the Iowa quarter is that they represent the sacrifice of all Iowa veterans. The quarter design features an outline of Iowa with the profiles of all five Sullivans inside and a banner with their motto: “We Stick Together.” Below Iowa is the U.S.S. Juneau floating in northern Missouri.

Unlike the veteran on the Iowa seal, the Sullivan brothers are hardly quintessential. While they are a source of pride for the state – and rightly so – they are not widely recognized outside of Iowa. By singling out the five brothers, it is hard to connect the thousands of other veterans from the state who served in other wars and in other branches.

Furthermore, if the theme of the quarter is Iowans’ sacrifices, there are plenty of examples that typify the struggles of settling, farming and building the state.

If the theme of the quarter is honoring great Iowans, Norman Borlaug should be first on the list. The Nobel prize winner from Cresco developed grain hybrids that made him the father of the Green Revolution, enabling many farmers in developing nations to plant crops that would produce higher yields, leading to diminished hunger in nations like Mexico, Pakistan and India. At the 2001 World Food Prize, he was credited with saving a billion lives.

If the theme of the quarter is to represent the state, a design indicating a basis in agriculture with innovation comes to mind. Grant Wood, one of Iowa’s most famous sons, painted “American Gothic” in Eldon. The long-faced couple and their pitchfork make up one of the most widely recognized paintings. It illustrates agriculture, the people of Iowa and is something that nearly everyone in the United States could identify.

The Sullivans’ legacy would not be diminished by picking another image for Iowa’s quarter. The quarter should be a symbol of the entire state and what the people of the state pride themselves upon.

If you are still holding out for the Sullivans, check out the Tennessee quarter. They chose not to depict Alvin York.

Rachel Faber Machacha is a graduate student in international development studies from Emmetsburg.