North Dakota soldiers have been awarded 17 Medals of Honor throughout history. Nine come from the Philippine Insurrection alone. Tom Gerhardt has more on how North Dakota volunteers did their part. 110 years ago this April, the US declared war on Spain. In this months edition of Inside History, find out how North Dakota volunteers played an important part in the conflict. Soldiers from Bismarck parade downtown before boarding a train May 25th bound for San Francisco. Theyand soldiers from all across the statereach Manila on the 31st of Julyunderprepared is some ways for the battleground. Mark:Men of NOrth Dakota were using outdated equipment, outdated uniforms, if you look at these pictures they are wearing blue wool uniforms, they’re carrying the same type of trap door Springfield that Custer's troops carried on the battlefield of the Little Big Horn almost 20 years earlier. Take a close look at this photo. You'll notice a baseball bat, a guitar, boxing gloves, and beer bottles. Soldiers did what they could to pass the time. Mark:If you look at the diary accounts of the men of the North Dakota regiment, the North Dakota volunteers, they dealt with everything from boredom, oppressive heat, molaria, dysentery, to all sorts of other wonderful sundry diseases that come about with an Army of occupation. This flag on display at the Heritage Center flew over the Philippines'. It has a direct connection to our lives today. Mark:Our state flag is the official regimental banner of the 1st North Dakota volunteers...when it was adopted in 1911 they sewed the word North Dakota over the top of 1st ND volunteers. And Mark Halvorson says there's another interesting angle to the story. He says noted historians are making many connections between the Phillipines...and our modern day war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mark:You've got an insurrectionist group who quickly blends in with the crowd, you're dealing with improvised bombs, y...
North Dakota soldiers have been awarded 17 Medals of Honor throughout history. Nine come f...
