WILLISTON, N.D. - On Thursday May 5, Associate Professor Richard Stenberg's World War I class honored a number of veterans buried in Riverview Cemetery by placing flags on their graves.

The class, as part of a community service project, honored known veterans who served in WWI, the Civil War, the Spanish American War, and the Indian Wars. Any oversight of graves was not intentional, as the class placed flags on the graves of those who were verified as veterans of these wars.

"I want to give my students the opportunity to look at an individual, see what they can find out in records, and if they served or were killed in action," Stenberg stated. "I don't know if [these veterans have] had the respect shown to them in recent decades that they probably would have initially gotten."

Over 180 graves were located and honored with the help of genealogist and former cemetery employee, Adriene Stepanek. During their May 5 honor celebration, students read aloud biographies of certain veterans and also the names of World War I soldiers who were killed in action, noting that some were buried in France.

"The newspaper articles that we read brought it close to home that WWI affected even Williston, North Dakota. This brought it even further home that they were real people," stated WSC Freshman Haley Dean. "It's cool that we get to be a part of it."

Stenberg received permission for both Riverview and Sunset cemeteries for the flags to remain through Memorial Day.

The funding for the flags came from a Thrivent Financial Action Team grant.

For more information about this event contact Richard Stenberg, WSC Associate Professor at 701.774.4264 or richard.stenberg@willistonstate.edu
For any information regarding WSC, please visit www.willistonstate.edu, call 1.888.863.9455, or stop by 1410 University Avenue, Williston, ND.