Brig. Gen. Mitchell Johnson, right, adjutant general of the North Dakota National Guard, views the All Veterans Memorial on Nov. 11, 2024, after a Veterans Day ceremony in Bismarck. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
By: Michael Achterling
BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota federal and state leaders marked Veterans Day by highlighting the service and sacrifice of the state’s military.
Brig. Gen. Mitchell Johnson, adjutant general for the North Dakota National Guard, said the lives of Guard members can be unpredictable and challenging. For example, Guard soldiers recently returned from Syria and were deployed to fight wildfires in the western part of the state, he said Monday during a ceremony at the North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum.
Johnson also praised members and volunteers for the state’s veterans service organizations, like the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and AMVETS, for continuing to support their brothers and sisters in arms long after they have hung up their uniforms.
“These people give their time and support us in so many different ways, to include this great event today on Veterans Day,” Johnson said in an interview. “They are some of the best that we have in our country and in our state.”
Gov. Doug Burgum called Veterans Day “a day of gratitude.”
“It takes a pause, a day of coming together, to honor those who have donned the uniform and taken up arms for their country, both here at home and across our nation and the world,” Burgum said.
He said the National Guard’s mission of “always ready, always there” was on display when soldiers assisted firefighters in protecting communities from wildfires in early October.
U.S. Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer and U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong also participated in the event.
Armstrong, North Dakota’s governor-elect, said events and fundraisers hosted by the state’s veteran organizations throughout the year are ingrained into every community across the state.
“They never ever take that hat off, even if they aren’t physically wearing it,” he said.
Armstrong shared that some of his strongest memories as a member of Congress involve honor flights from North Dakota visiting memorials in Washington, D.C. During a recent flight, a North Dakota class of highschoolers was in Washington and shook hands and greeted each veteran as they toured the Marine Corps War Memorial.
“We didn’t organize that. The honor flight didn’t organize that,” he said. “That was some teacher, some family member of a high school class in North Dakota that brought them all.”
The ceremony concluded by 11 a.m. so attendees could go outside on the Capitol grounds to view the state’s All Veterans Memorial. It was designed to beam sunlight through a hole in the wall every Nov. 11 at the 11th hour to illuminate North Dakota on the globe. Even though the overcast sky limited the sunlight, the state of North Dakota still gleamed brightly Monday.
Veterans Day also coincides with the end of World War I, known as Armistice Day, which celebrated the campaign-wide ceasefire that took place at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918.
Carl Vender, a Navy veteran from Bismarck, said the state hosting the memorial means a lot to veterans of every service.
“It’s a nice location to honor the veterans,” said Vender, a lifetime member of the American Legion. “Not only the past service, but the current service members.”
Vender also said he noticed the country’s mood soften and become more respectful of military veterans since the Vietnam War, which fills him with hope for the next generation of service members who may not be in uniform yet.
“During Vietnam, you hid the fact that you were a veteran because of some of the demonstrations,” he said. “I’m very grateful that we honor them (now) and we are no longer afraid to say that you are a veteran.”
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