Veteran’s Corner

Jason Hicks | Commander United Patriotic bodies
Fargo Memorial Honor Guard

As I sit here today and write this article from the comfort of my home. I reflect on the past three burials conducted at the Fargo National Cemetery. You see we; the Fargo Memorial honor Guard conduct our military ceremonies no matter the weather. We are there for the families of our departed comrades. That being said it’s the families that suffer, on Friday we had 40mph wind gusts and on Monday temp was -17 below with around -30 to -40 below windchill. It is for this reason we are working so hard on putting a permanent structure at the national cemetery so the hardship of the families is not because of weather conditions but a natural part of the grieving process. Families should not have to worry if they brought enough blankets to pile onto grandma. Also the current bathroom situation is nothing to brag about. The “permanent” structure is again out of commission and will not be fixed until spring time. Have you ever used a frozen solid porta potty? Well, my wife got to this week as she came with to the services. Needless to say, she wasn’t thrilled. This is an embarrassment and needs to be resolved.
The State Veteran cemeteries have buildings as do many Federal Veterans cemeteries. We were told by a VA bureaucrat that unless a cemetery is 100 acres or more there is no building. Well, that didn’t sit well with us and we decided to take it upon ourselves to right this wrong. This is our Arlington National Cemetery of North Dakota and a large portion of Western MN. We currently have legislation being worked on in both states for funding assistance. I encourage you to write an email or letter to your local representatives to support this funding. ND Senate bill #2265 Sponsor is Scott Meyers, co-sponsors are Sen Hogan, Sen Sorvaag, Sen Luick and Sen Burckhard and Rep Schauer from Fargo. We have currently raised around 1.4 million dollars and with much prompting from others have asked the states for some support for this needed project.
In closing, please try to attend “Freezin for a reason” sponsored by the Moorhead American Legion January 31. Lots of fun activities are planned for this yearly event.