Family members of a World War II veteran are wondering why a long-standing memorial will not be reinstalled in UND’s new Memorial Union.
According to Elton “Mick” Ringsak Jr. a memorial to his father Elton, including multiple medals, a portrait and a helmet with a bullet hole, were returned to family members in Grand Forks. The installation had been displayed in the previous incarnation of UND’s Memorial Union for more than 30 years.
UND administrators say they meant no offense in returning the display, and taking down others like it, and that the goal is to create a memorial installation that is more inclusive of all veterans associated with the university.
“It came as a real surprise (but) it doesn't shock me with the status of higher ed,” said Mick, in a Thursday, Sept. 9, phone call with the Herald. “The general attitude in higher education has changed considerably (from) when I was still in school.”
According to Mick, the installation, called “The Price of Freedom,” was returned to Beau and Kris Bateman, relatives of Elton Ringsak Sr., in July.
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He contacted UND administrators when construction began on the new Union, to find out what would happen to his father’s installation. In an email to the Herald, he said he was told it had been put into storage, until space could be found for it when the new building was completed. Upon that completion, he reached out to Cheryl Grew-Gillen, director of the Memorial Union, asking if the memorial had been placed, and if not, that it be returned. Grew-Gillen informed him it had already been returned.
Plans for a memorial honoring veterans evolved as the construction project advanced, according to UND spokesman David Dodds. The decision was made to centralize the memorial into one location, as opposed to multiple spaces, and be reflective of all UND-connected veterans.
“I couldn't even begin to put into words the debt of gratitude we owe people like Elton Ringsak, and all others who served our nation so faithfully,” Dodds said. “As we formulated the plans for the new Memorial Union there was a decision made that we would like to honor all of our alumni and friends of UND, and those connected to UND, who served in various wars and conflicts over the years in service to our country.”
On the second floor of the new Memorial Union there is a large display consisting of a U.S. flag and commemorative plaque. Dodds said the memorial is not finished, and will include a plaque with the names of all veterans associated with UND, a large task that administrators are carefully working to complete.
Mick Ringsak, who said his family has a long history with UND, said he has “mixed feelings” about the decision not to display his father's memorial, and that the representation of veterans at UND “does not seem too important.”
Still, in a follow up email Thursday, he said he and his family members are grateful to have had decades of his father’s presence on campus. He is working to bring the memorial to Grafton, to be included in the Walsh County Veterans Memorial, which he said is under development.
“For 38 years students, parents, faculty and visitors were able to view his contributions to his community, state and country,” Mick Ringsak said. “Those who saw couldn't help but be touched at the sight of his helmet, which shows a clear hole mortared through it.”
Who is Elton Ringsak Sr.?
Grafton native Elton Ringsak served as a lieutenant colonel in WWII, and was Walsh County’s state’s attorney from 1949 to 1956, according to an online obituary. He graduated from the U.S. Army’s Reserve Officer Training Corps at UND in 1937, and later from UND’s law school, while recuperating from war wounds.
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While in service, he was wounded multiple times, and received numerous commendations and medals, including seven Purple Hearts, two Distinguished Service Crosses, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and French and Italian military medals, among others.
He was discharged in 1945 after his fifth wound, caused by an exploding shell, left him partially paralyzed and with a brain injury. According to information supplied from Mick, Elton Ringsak learned to control grand mal seizures, and went on to serve 17 years in the North Dakota Senate, and practiced law for 30 years.
In 1974, he was awarded the President's Trophy as "Handicapped Person of the Year," by President Gerald Ford. The following year he was the honored guest of UND’s Military Ball and in 1976 he received the university’s Sioux Award. Elton Ringsak’s memorial display was unveiled at the Memorial Union in 1984. In 1987 the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Grand Forks was named after him.
He married Ruth Baker in 1938 and had five children in Grafton. Elton Ringsak died on May 17, 1982 at 66 years of age. He is interred at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. Ruth Ringsak died in 1988 in Grafton.
