BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. Doug Burgum issued the following statement today after President Donald Trump announced the appointment of Robert Wefald of North Dakota to the American Battle Monuments Commission.
Wefald served 27 years in the U.S. Navy and Naval Reserve, including as an officer during the Vietnam War. He was North Dakota’s attorney general from 1981 to 1984 and served as a district judge in the South Central Judicial District from 1998 to 2010. Wefald graduated from Minot High School and earned his undergraduate degree from the University of North Dakota and his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School.
As chairman of the USS North Dakota Committee, Wefald worked tirelessly to convince the Navy to name a Virginia-class nuclear submarine after his home state. Wefald, Gov. Burgum and First Lady Kathryn Helgaas Burgum were among a contingent of North Dakotans who attended a change of command ceremony for the USS North Dakota in November at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Conn.
“With his distinguished record of military and public service and his deep commitment to supporting veterans and active servicemembers, Bob Wefald is tremendously deserving of this appointment,” Burgum said. “We congratulate him and rest assured knowing he will do an outstanding job preserving the legacy of the uniformed men and women from North Dakota and throughout our great nation who sacrificed so much for our freedom.”
Established by Congress in 1923, the American Battle Monuments Commission commemorates the service, achievements and sacrifice of the U.S. Armed Forces. The commission administers, operates and maintains American military cemeteries and federal memorials, monuments and markers, both in the United States and across 16 foreign countries, the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the British territory of Gibraltar.