Veteran’s Corner

Jason Hicks | Commander United Patriotic bodies
Fargo Memorial Honor Guard

Greetings all, as we finish up the holidays it appears winter cold has found us. As of this writing we’ve (Fargo Memorial Honor Guard) conducted two funerals at the Fargo National Cemetery this year. We have made some equipment improvements (heated vests and gloves) and boy does it make a difference.
As many of you know we are working on putting a permanent structure at the Fargo National Cemetery. We have raised over 1.2 million dollars and now we have a ND State Senator that is gonna bring a funding bill this legislative session. Scott Meyers ® Grand Forks is carrying the torch forward for us. I cannot tell you how thankful we are for this. Many people have asked about a state contribution and now it is gonna be brought to the floor. This will be a one-time request. I field many questions about the Mandan State Cemetery and our Cemetery in Fargo. One is fully state funded the other is a National Cemetery funded by the Federal Government. The Fargo National Cemetery is part of the “rural” initiative cemetery program; there are only a few others in the country. We (FMHG) immediately recognized the need for a building and safe parking. We were initially told no, well as you can imagine that was not an acceptable answer so onward and upward. There is now a plan that has been submitted to the VA, where a building can be built on their property and once it is completed they ( the National Cemetery Administration) will take over the building with upkeep, maintenance and administrating the building.
I ask all of you to contact your local legislators and ask them to support a funding bill. We need that extra shot in the arm to get us over the hump.
In other Veteran related news, NDSU winter/spring Bison Strides will run Jan 10th through May 16th. They offer a Military and Veterans horsemanship program free of charge. The big take away is the therapeutic benefit of working with horses.
Veterans/military personnel may enter the program at any time during this time frame as space allows. Summer and fall programming are offered as well. The Veterans and Military Horsemanship Program is subsidized through grants and donations so is offered at no cost to the service member or their family. We welcome any partners able to assist financially.
New in 2025 Bison strides will be offering mounted (riding) sessions on a limited basis mixed with ground work and horse-human relationship building during the Friday morning time. The evening time is ground work and horse-human relationship building only. Reported benefits from current and past participants include greater mindfulness, reduced depressive and anxiety symptoms, improved physical stamina and greater connection. Please reach out with any questions and share with others who may be interested! Ndsu.bisonstrides@ndsu.edu.