North Dakota Historical Society works to fill military collection gaps ahead of new museum

Yahoo

26-05-2025

Lori Nohner, research historian for the State Historical Society of North Dakota, looks at a button on a New Hampshire Civil War-era uniform in the museum collections storage area at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck on May 22, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
In the collection of the North Dakota Heritage Center, rows of soldiers' uniforms, military equipment and personal items tell the stories of service members.
The State Historical Society of North Dakota has about 10,000 military items, but only about 5% is displayed at one time. The new North Dakota Military Gallery, planned for the state Capitol grounds in Bismarck, will be able to showcase more of the collection.
Brig. Gen. Jackie Huber, deputy adjutant general for the North Dakota National Guard, said one unique aspect of the new museum is that it will focus on North Dakota's role in the military and the stories of state service members serving abroad and at home.
For information on how to donate an item for the museum collection, visit the Historical Society's website.
'We have a number of Medal of Honor recipients that I think most North Dakotans don't even know the stories behind them,' Huber said. 'We are also going to incorporate Native American stories of the warrior culture before statehood, so that's really unique, too.'
A groundbreaking for the North Dakota Military Gallery is expected mid-summer, with completion planned for fall 2027.
In anticipation, the Historical Society is looking to fill some gaps in its military collection, said Lori Nohner, research historian at the State Historical Society of North Dakota.
The collection begins with the Civil War and goes all the way through the Global War on Terror to current military items.
The collection features a handful of uniforms worn by soldiers who fought in the Civil War and who moved to the Dakota Territory following the conflict. One uniform was worn by a member of the Dakota Territory Guard, which was a precursor to the state's National Guard.
'This was a guy from Wisconsin who came to North Dakota and homesteaded, and then he went back to Wisconsin, but he stayed long enough to be in the Guard,' Nohner said.
The Historical Society also has a Spanish-American War cavalry uniform worn by former state lawmaker Leslie Simpson of Dickinson and a Navy officers peacoat from World War II, worn by Lt. William Guy of Devils Lake who later became the 26th governor of North Dakota.
Guy served as a gunnery officer on the U.S. Navy Destroyer William D. Porter, which was sunk by kamikaze pilots near Okinawa, Japan in 1945.
'His original uniform is at the bottom of the ocean, so this is his uniform from the rest of his service during World War II,' Nohner said.
Revolvers, included two weapons who were assigned to soldiers serving Gen. George Custer's 7th Cavalry Regiment, rest in a drawer of the gun vault in the museum collections storage area at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck on May 22, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
Lori Nohner, research historian for the State Historical Society of North Dakota, holds an Army-issued sweatshirt in the museum collections storage area at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck on May 22, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
Lori Nohner, research historian for the State Historical Society of North Dakota, stands next shelves of World War I gas masks and other military equipment in the museum collections storage area at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck on May 22, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
A military entrenching tool rests on a shelf in the museum collections storage area at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck on May 22, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
A cannon ball rests on a shelf in the museum collections storage area at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck on May 22, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
Lori Nohner, research historian for the State Historical Society of North Dakota, holds former-Gov. William Guy's Navy officer peacoat in the museum collections storage area at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck on May 22, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
Rows of military uniforms sorted by era hang in the museum collections storage area at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck on May 22, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
Identification tags hang off the hangers of military uniforms in the museum collections storage area at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck on May 22, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
Lori Nohner, research historian for the State Historical Society of North Dakota, shows Air Force uniforms worn by former Bismarck State College President Larry Skogen in the museum collections storage area at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck on May 22, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
Lori Nohner, research historian for the State Historical Society of North Dakota, holds a Coast Guard uniform worn by a North Dakota woman who served in the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) in the museum collections storage area at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck on May 22, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
The collection needs more Coast Guard uniforms and items from the Navy after the Korean War, Nohner said. The Historical Society also is seeking more uniforms worn by women, Native Americans and other minorities.
When people donate old military uniforms and fatigues, Nohner said they're asked to provide a story about the service member and a photo of the person in the uniform to stand alongside the collection.
'You can get some information just looking at a uniform, but you can't get the whole story,' Nohner said. 'You can't get the personal stories. The real meaty, interesting histories.'
Nohner said some of her favorite military items are the less ceremonial items, such as physical training sweatsuits. She said the Historical Society would accept an iPod used by a service member during a deployment, or even military-issued underwear, socks and other everyday items.
'They are so ubiquitous, but no one seems to donate them to a museum because they wear them out,' she said. 'They keep wearing them. That's why we don't have many boots from World War I because the soldiers would wear them when they got home.'
Nohner said personal items have become increasingly difficult to find. More recent service members are less likely to have letters or photographs they sent home.
The Historical Society also has a need for more modern, American-made military weaponry, she said.
'We have a lot of foreign weapons from World War I especially because they were taken as souvenirs and the War Department divvied up a lot of war trophies … to the states based on how many people per capita served,' Nohner said.
People who donate items to the collection can make appointments at the Heritage Center to view their items in the collection vaults.
'There's still a lot of things that we're preserving for the next generation that maybe don't go up on exhibit, so we're happy to show any donors the items that they donated,' Nohner said.
She added the storage spaces housing the military uniforms and other items are climate-controlled to keep the artifacts at the right temperature, in the best humidity conditions and lighting to prevent fading.
The Historical Society and the North Dakota National Guard have been consulting about the new gallery since October and working together to determine the displays and content for the new museum, Nohner said.
The total cost of the Military Gallery is estimated at $77.9 million, with about half of the funding coming from the state and half coming from private donations to the North Dakota National Guard Foundation.
Lawmakers so far have approved $19.2 million in state funding, with some of the allocation contingent on private donations being pledged. Legislators earlier this year also approved a $20 million Bank of North Dakota line of credit for the museum and directed the Historical Society to request funding in 2027 if the loan is used.
Huber, who also serves as president of the North Dakota National Guard Foundation, said about $8 million in private donations have been raised out of the $40 million fundraising goal. She said many donors were waiting to see how much the state planned to contribute. Fundraisers also are working to secure larger donations from corporations involved in the defense industry.
'We have got a number of pending proposals,' Huber said. 'Nobody has said, 'No,' to it, if you can believe that, which is pretty incredible.'
The Historical Society is continuing to add to its video collection of thousands of veterans' oral histories. Veterans interested in making a testimonial should make an appointment at the Heritage Center to record the first-hand stories of their service time.
'Our goal is to have these last for hundreds and hundreds of years, not just for the next generation, this is for several more generations,' Nohner said.