♪ ♪ >> HELLO, AND WELCOME TO DAKOTA LIFE.

I'M YOUR HOST, MICHELLE VAN MAANEN.

BECAUSE THIS IS THE SEASON OF GIVING, WE THOUGHT WE WOULD BRING YOU THREE STORIES ABOUT PEOPLE WHO HAVE GIVEN SOMETHING BACK TO THE STATE: AN ARTIST-TEACHER WHO HAS GREAT FAITH IN THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE; A FORMER OPERA SINGER WHO DECIDED TO SHARE HER COLLECTION OF DOLL HOUSES; AND A TRUE HERO OF THE VIETNAM WAR.

IN THIS FIRST SEGMENT, WE WILL VISIT WITH A LIFELONG RESIDENT OF SOUTH DAKOTA WHO HAS DEVOTED HIS LIFE TO PAINTING AND TEACHING.

HE HAS TAUGHT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA AND SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY, AS WELL AS AT AUGUSTANA COLLEGE WHERE HE IS NOW ARTIST IN RESIDENCE.

>> BORN IN THE DUST BOWL YEARS AND RAISED ON THE EASTERN EDGE OF THE SOUTH DAKOTA PRAIRIE, SIOUX FALLS ARTIST ROBERT J. ALDERN TAKES MUCH OF HIS INSPIRATION FROM THE SPIRIT OF THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE.

MANY OF HIS PERSONAL PAINTINGS AND COMMISSIONED LITURGICAL PIECES REFLECT THE SUBTLE LIGHT AND COLORS OF A LAND THAT HAS INFLUENCED HIM SINCE HIS EARLY CHILDHOOD.

>> I LOOK BACK TO THOSE DAYS BECAUSE YOU REMEMBER SO MUCH OF RUNNING ON THE LAND.

WE WERE BAREFOOTED DURING THE SUMMER AND SHOES IN THE WINTER, AND THE DROUGHT AND THE COLORS, NOT KNOWING IT THEN BUT IN RETROSPECT, IT'S EVEN MORE CLEAR AND IT'S STRANGE AS WE AGE, WE SEEM TO RECALL MORE CLEARLY THE PAST, AND I'M STILL DRAWING FROM THOSE EXPERIENCES, LITERALLY AND PAINTING FROM THOSE EXPERIENCES.

TWO OF MY GREAT HEROES ARE BONARD AND VIARD.

VIARD HAD PAINTINGS THAT WERE ALMOST LIKE CAMOUFLAGE, WHERE YOU'D HAVE FIGURES SEATED ON A COUCH THAT MELTED INTO DIVAN OR SOFA, THAT MELTED INTO THE WALL THAT MELTED INTO THE FLOOR AND SENDS A PATTERN OF COLOR.

IT WAS VERY CLOSENESS OF COLOR AND URBAN.

SO I WOULD SAY, I STARTED OUT BEING VERY EERTEE IN COLOR TONES, LIKE THAT, AND THE FLATNESS OF THE LAND, AND THE SHAPES I THINK WERE THE EARLY INFLUENCES.

>> AFTER GRADUATION FROM WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL IN 1947, HE ATTENDED AUGUSTTANA COLLEGE, WHERE HE STUDDED UNDER SOMEONE CONSIDERED TO BE THE ZBRAFRND OLD MAN.

HE ALSO CAME UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ANOTHER ARTIST TEACHER, AU-- OGDEN AND DALYMRIMPLE.

>> THEY WERE BOTH-- OWING DEN PINDS ME INTO THE CORNER ONE DAY AND HE WAS A BIG MAN AND PUT HIS ARMS UNDER EITHER SIDE OF THE CORNER AND LOOKING ME IN THE EYE, AND SAID, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WITH YOUR ART?

I SAID, WELL, I'D LIKE TO ILLUSTRATE FIELD AND STREAM OR DO BEARS AND TIGERS AND LIONS.

HE TOOK ME ON WITH THE QUESTIONING OF HOW VALID THAT WOULD BE FOR MY LIFE, OR IF THERE WASN'T SOMETHING MORE THAT COULD BE ACHIEVED BY LOOKING AT ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS AND DIRECTIONS, AND-- BASICALLY AFTER A SERIOUS STUDY OF PAINTINGS, A SERIOUS STUDY OF DRAWING WOULD BE ABOUT.

PALMER WAS DOING A LOT OF MURAL WORK AND WORK WITH ARCHITECTS, SO ARCHITECT TURL, LITURGICAL FORMS AND I WAS INFLUENCED BY WHAT HE'D DONE AND HAD OPPORTUNITY TO WORK FOR ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS FOR SEVEN YEARS, AND CAME ABOUT THROUGH A SIMILAR PROCESS COMING INTO THAT KIND OF ACTIVITY.

SPEAKER MUCH OF HIS WORK IS ABOUT LITURGICAL WHICH CAN BE FOUND THROUGHOUT THE REGION AND BEYOND.

JUST AS HIS PERSONAL ARTERY FLEKTS THE LAY OF THE LAND, HIS LITURGICAL ART OFTEN CENTERS OWNED HUMAN FORM, SPIRITUAL.

>> MOST OF THE HUMAN FORMS IN MY WORK STEM AROUND LITURGICAL FORMS THAT DEAL WITH EITHER MIRACLES, PARABLES THE LIFE OF CHRIST OR SACRAMENTS, ET CETERA, THE SYMBOLS AND WHERE THEY DON'T USE KNOWN SYMBOLS OR I HAVEN'T EMPLOYED KNOWN SYMBOLS, THEY'VE EMPLOYED A LIKE-CONDITION TO THE FEELING OF FAMILY.

>> WHILE AT AUGUST SPXT STANA, >> WHILE AT AUGUSTANA, ALDERN DID A SUMMER STUDY UNDER THE NOTED FRENCH MURALIST, JEAN CHARLOT IN SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.

THEN, AFTER SERVING IN THE AIR FORCE FROM 1951 TO 1954, HE ATTENDED THE HARTFORD ART SCHOOL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD IN CONNECTICUT.

THESE EXPERIENCES WERE TO PROVE INVALUABLE TO HIS FUTURE CAREER.

>> I HAD EARLY INFLUENCES WITH PR.PALMER EIDE, A MAN FROM CONNECTICUT.

I STUD HE HAD WITH A FRENCH MEXICAN MURALIST.

A FRIEND OF MINE AND I BOUGHT A HARLEY AND DROVE OUT TO SAN DIEGO, AND STUDIED WITH HIM FOR SIX WEEKS, AND CAME BACK AND SOLD THE HARLEY FOR THE SAME PRICE, WHICH DELIGHTED MY FATHER, AND THAT WAS A BIG INFLUENCE ON ME.

I HAVE TO ALMOST SAY THAT FOR SOME TIME AND FINALLY ONE DAY, I HAD AN INSTRUCTOR OUT EAST, MAYOR,-- HEINRICH MEIER SAID WHEN WILL YOU STOP BEING BOB AND START BEING CHARLOT?

AND MY IMITATING AND MY INTEREST IN SIMULATING HIS STYLE, BUT I HAVE TO SAY, I LEARNED FROM HIM, AND NOW I AM-- I HAVE ENTIRELY BROKEN FROM THAT BUT IT'S STILL-- IT WAS A VALUABLE EXPERIENCE, VERY VALUABLE.

>> THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER, BOB ALDERN HAS BEEN BOTH A TEACHER AND AN ARTIST, MUCH LIKE HIS MENTORS, PALMER EIDE AND OGDEN DALRYMPLE.

TEACHING HAS BEEN VALUABLE TO HIS ART IN MANY WAYS.

>> TEACHING HAS BEEN A VALUABLE PART OF MY OWN DEVELOPMENT BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO HAVE PROOF OF THE PUDDING, IF YOU'RE GOING TO SAY SOMETHING, YOU BETTER BE ABLE TO DO IT.

AND IF YOU'RE GOING TO SAY SOMETHING AND ASK OF THEM AND EXPECT OUT OF A STUDENT AN OBSERVATION LIKE YOU EXPOUNDED UPON, THEN YOU BETTER HAVE THE EXPERIENCE AND BE ABLE TO PROVE TO THAT PERSON THAT YOU UTILIZED THAT SAME KIND OF ATTITUDE OR HAVE ACHIEVED THAT KIND OF END IN ORDER TO MAKE IT VALID.

INFLUENCES UPON ME FROM THE REGION HAVE BEEN PEOPLE AND PLACES.

CERTAINLY THE PLACES FROM EAST TO WEST, I LIKE DOING THEMES-- WELL, MY THEMES, TITLES TO MY WORK, SOUTH OF ROSELYNNE, EAST OF KA DOCK A, SOMEWHERE SOUTH OF VERMILLION, THOSE ARE-- I DON'T LIKE SPECIFIC SITES SAYING THAT I SAT AT THAT SITE AND THEN DID A DRAWING FROM IT, WHICH I DO MANY TIMES, BUT THEN I TAKE THE DRAWINGS BACK TO THE STUDIO AND THEN THEY'RE INTERPRETED IN MY OWN MIND AND CHANGED TO MAKE IT-- TO BE A PAINTING THAT I LIKE, RATHER THAN TO BE A PLACE, AND YET IT IS FROM THAT PLACE.

>> JUST AS HIS PAINTINGS REFLECT THE INFLUENCE OF LIGHT ON THE LAND, THE ARTIST CONFESSES HE HAS BEEN INFLUENCED BY MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE PASSED THROUGH HIS LIFE AND WERE A PART OF HIS WORLD ON THE EDGE OF THE SOUTH DAKOTA PRAIRIE.

>> THE MARVELOUS THING ABOUT BEING AROUND ARTISTS, HAVING THEM IN YOUR HOME AND HAVING A CONVERSATION AND THEN LEARNING, DAN PACKER WAS A BIG INFLUENCE, A FELLOW BY THE NAME OF DAN O'BOYLEWAS A BIG INFLUENCE, THEY HELPED TEACH ME TO ASK QUESTIONS.

I THINK IF YOU CAN KEEP ON ASKING QUESTIONS OF YOURSELF AND LEARN TO ARTICULATE AND DEFINE A GOOD QUESTION, THE QUESTION HAS-- IF YOU CAN THEN GET AN ANSWER APPROPRIATELY EQUAL TO THE QUALITY OF THE QUESTION, THEN I THINK YOU START LEARNING.

WHY BE A PAINTER, WHY BE AN ARTIST?

I THINK IN ONE SENSE, EARLY ON, YOU DON'T REALIZE THAT YOU HAVE TO BE.

AND AT ONE POINT, YOU REALIZE THAT THERE'S NO OTHER THING THAT YOU CAN DO EXCEPT THAT YOU HAVE TO BE AN ARTIST, AND YOU ALSO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF PRACTICALNESS WHICH MY FATHER MAY NOT HAVE THOUGHT.

YOU DO REALIZE THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE A LIVELIHOOD SO YOU CAN DO OTHER THINGS, BUT I THINK AN ARTIST LOOKS AT LIFE AS SOMETHING TO BE FULFILLED OF THEIR OWN NEEDS TO DO THAT, AND THEN THE JOY OF BEING IN IT, I COULD THINK OF NO OTHER FIELD THAT I WOULD LOVE MORE OR FIND MORE SATISFACTION FROM THAN THE PROCESSES AND THE YIELDINGS AND THE COMPLETIONS OF WORK IN THE INDIVIDUAL ARTS AND SEEING THEM BY OTHER PEOPLE.

>> ALDERN'S WORK IS CURRENTLY BEING SHOWN IN A TRAVELING RETROSPECTIVE.

FOR DETAILS, CONTACT THE USD COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS.

OUR NEXT SEGMENT TAKES US TO SPEARFISH TO VIEW A WONDERFUL COLLECTION OF DOLL HOUSES WHICH REFLECTS THE WORLD TRAVELS OF ITS OWNER, JOHANNA MEIER.

JOHANNA IS A FORMER SOPRANO WITH THE NEW YORK METROPOLITAN OPERA, AND DAUGHTER OF THE FOUNDER OF THE SPEARFISH PASSION PLAY, JOSEPH MEIER.

>> A DREAM HOME CAN MANY MANY DIFFERENT THINGS TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE.

SOME LIKE QUIET LOG CABINS, OTHERS PREFER FAMILY STYLE FARM HOMES, WHILE SOME WOULD MUCH RATHER HAVE AN ELABORATE VICTORIAN MANSION.

BUT TO LIVE IN ANY OF THESE HOMES, YOU'D HAVE TO BE 3 INCHES TALL.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF MINITURE DOLL HOUSES.

ALTHOUGH THESE HOMES MAY BE TINY, THE MUSUEM IS FULL OF EDUCATIONAL WONDERS PLUS SOME GREAT DECORATING IDEAS.

JOHANNA MEIER HAS BEEN >> MY GREAT FUN IS WHEN WE ACTUALLY GET TO THE DECORATING OF THE HOUSE, WHETHER IT'S PUTTING UP WALLPAPER OR CURTAINS OR HANGING PICTURES, ARRANGING FURNITURE AND, OF COURSE, THE LAST THING, I THINK THE THING THAT MAKES IT MOST COMPLETE IS THE ADDITION OF THE DOLLS IN THE HOUSES.

NOW, MANY OF THESE DOLLS ALSO WERE ACQUISITIONS THAT I GOT AS I TRAVELED, AND SO I WAS ALWAYS ON THE LOOK-OUT FOR UNUSUAL DOLLS THAT WERE EITHER-- SOME OF THEM ONE-OF-A-KIND, HANDMADE OR DOLLS THAT FIT INTO A CERTAIN PERIOD AND COUNTRY.

JOHANNA MEIER HAS BEEN COLLECTING DOLL HOUSES SINCE SHE WAS A LITTLE GIRL.

WITH MORE THAN 30 HOMES, JOHANNA FELT THE NEED TO SHARE HER HOBBY WITH OTHERS.

SO SHE KEEPS SOME OF THEM ON DISPLAY AT "THE WEST IN MINIATURE" IN SPEARFISH.

>> THE ORIGINAL EXHIBIT IN THE MUSEUM WAS DOLL HOUSES AND SORT OF A VILLAGE STREET WHICH WE'LL SEE LATER ON.

THEN, LAST YEAR, WE OPENED THIS NEW SECTION HERE WHICH DEALS STRICTLY WITH INTERNATIONAL DOLL HOUSES AND FURNITURE AND DOLLS.

THIS BEING A MUSEUM OF THE WEST, AND A HISTORICAL MUSEUM, LARGELY, WE WANTED TO DO SOMETHING THAT WAS IN KEEPING WITH THE THEME OF THE MUSEUM.

AND I ALSO WANTED TO BE ABLE TO GET SOME OF MY INTERNATIONAL HOUSES INTO DISPLAY, AND SO WE CAME UP WITH THE IDEA OF THE DISPLAY WHICH WE CALL A FAMILY TREE, AND THAT IS TO SHOW PEOPLE IN OUR HIGH PLAINS AREA HOW THEIR ANCESTORS MIGHT HAVE BEEN LIVING BEFORE THEY EMIGRATED TO THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY.

AND SO WE INVESTIGATED AND RESEARCHED THE BACKGROUND OF IMMIGRANTS AND WHERE PEOPLE CAME FROM, LARGELY, HERE, AND DISCOVERED THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY A GREAT MELTING POT AND THERE WAS AN ENORMOUS INTERNATIONAL POPULATION HERE, COMPARATIVELY SPEAKING, ESPECIALLY IN THE LEAD AND DEADWOOD AREA BECAUSE OF THE GOLD MINE.

>> JOHANNA'S CAREER WITH THE METROPOLITAN OPERA IN NEW YORK CITY ALLOWED HER TO TRAVEL ALL OVER THE WORLD.

THIS AFFORDED HER THE OPPORTUNITY TO PURSUE HER CHILDHOOD INTEREST IN DOLL HOUSES.

ALTHOUGH SOME OF THE HOMES AND FURNISHINGS ARE REPLICAS, MOST ARE AUTHENIC PIECES PURCHASED OVERSEAS.

>> WE HAVE AN IRISH COTTAGE, A GERMAN HOUSE, A MEXICAN CANTIANA, AN ITALIAN HOUSE, A BOHEMIAN HOUSE, AN ENGLISH MARKET SQUARE.

THEN WE HAVE ALSO SINGLE ROOMS OF FRENCH, DUTCH, CHINESE, ENGLISH AND SCANDINAVIAN.

SO THERE'S A WIDE VARIETY, AND A WIDE VARIETY OF CULTURES REPRESENTED.

>> JOHANNA'S COLLECTION DATES BACK TO 1920, INCLUDING HER LATEST HOUSE DESIGNED TO LOOK LIKE A PRAIRIE MANOR FROM THE EARLY 1900S.

>> THERE ARE A GREAT MANY MINIATURE ENTHUSIASTS AROUND THE COUNTRY, AND ACTUALLY IT IS, I THINK, RECOGNIZED AS THE SECOND LARGEST HOBBY AFTER STAMP COLLECTING IN THE UNITED STATES.

SO THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WILL COME GREAT DISTANCES OR ALWAYS LOOK WHEN THEY ARE TRAVELING FOR ANY MINIATURE EXHIBITS AND COME TO SEE THEM.

DOLL HOUSES HAVE BEEN WITH US FOR A LONG, LONG TIME AND WE GO BACK EVEN TO FINDING DOLL HOUSE REPRESENTATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN FOUND IN EGYPT, FROM THE ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS.

SO IT IS SOMETHING THAT HAS FASCINATED PEOPLE SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME, I GUESS.

>> AS YOU WALK THROUGH THE MUSEUM, IT'S HARD TO NOT FIND YOURSELF DREAMING ABOUT LIVING IN ONE OF THE SMALL MANSIONS, PERFECTLY SET UP IN ITS OWN LITTLE NEIGHBORHOOD.

FULLY EQUIPED WITH BICYCLE PATHS, AN ICE-CREAM PARLOR, A BABYSITTING SERVICE, AND EACH HOME HAS ITS OWN PLUSH GREEN LAWN.

>> I HAVE DAYS THAT ARE CLUMSY DAYS, AND THOSE ARE THE GAYS THAT-- DAYS THAT THINGS GET KNOCKED DOWN AND FALL DOWN AND YOU HAVE TO BE VERY PATIENT IN PUTTING AND REPLACING AND GETTING THINGS BALANCED SO THAT THEY WILL STAY AND SO THAT DRAPERIES WILL HANG RIGHT AND TABLE CLOTHES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

AND SOMETIMES IF YOU JUST HIT IT WITH YOUR ELBOW, EVERYTHING COMES LOOSE AND THE DISHES JIGGLE OUT OF THE CAN YOU PLEASEBROORDS AND THEN YOU HAVE TO START ALL OVER AGAIN.

>> DOLL HOUSE COLLECTING CAN BE EXPENSIVE OR AFFORDABLE.

IT JUST DEPENDS ON HOW CREATIVE YOU'RE WILLING TO BE AND WHAT FUN LITTLE PIECES YOU CAN FIND AROUND YOUR HOUSE.

>> YOU CAN MAKE FURNITURE OUT OF PIECES OF CARDBOARD AND PIECES OF CLOTH AND LITTLE PIECES OF WOOD, AND YOU CAN MAKE DISHES OUT OF BOTTLECAPS AND LITTLE CLAY PIECES.

I MEAN, YOU CAN DO IT ON ANY LEVEL, AND I AM KIND OF SORRY TO SEE, IN A WAY, ALL THAT HAS EVOLVED IN THE WORLD OF PLASTIC, AS I AM NOW AN ADULT BECAUSE SO MANY OF THESE THINGS WERE THINGS THAT WE HAD FUN CREATING AS CHILDREN, AND I THINK KIDS ARE KIND OF MISSING THAT ELEMENT OF BEING ABLE TO GO INTO THE STORE AND BUY A COMPLETE BASH' WITH ALL OF HER CLOTHES AND HOUSES AND DISHES AND EVERYTHING DONE FOR THEM IN A LITTLE PLASTIC PACKAGE, INSTEAD OF HAVING THE FUN OF CREATING SOME OF THAT THEMSELVES HE IS.

AND I DON'T SAY THAT THE DOLL HOUSES OR THE TRAINS OR ANY OF IT ARE STRICTLY FOR CHILDREN BECAUSE I WOULD SAY THAT A GOOD PART OF THE AUDIENCE OUT HERE IS ADULT, AND THERE ARE MANY ADULT COLLECTORS AND MANY OF THOSE WHO APPRECIATE SEEING THINGS LIKE THIS IN MINIATURE.

ALSO, MANY PEOPLE REMINDED OF THEIR OWN CHILDHOOD IN THIS AREA, BY SEEING SOME OF THE EXHIBITS HERE AND SO IT'S A VERY NICE FAMILY ATTRACTION, SOMETHING THAT APPEALS TO PEOPLE OF ALL AGES, AND IT'S VERY EDUCATIONAL FOR YOUNG PEOPLE COMING OUT.

>> JOHANNA SAYS THAT, IN THE BEGINNING, SHE WAS EMBARRASED TO ADMIT HER LOVE FOR COLLECTING DOLL HOUSES, BUT NOW SHE URGES PEOPLE TO FOLLOW THEIR DREAMS AND PURSUE THEIR HOBBIES NO MATTER HOW BIG OR SMALL.

>> AND IF YOUR DREAM IS COLLECTING DOLLS OR DOLL HOUSES, YOU MIGHT WANT TO STOP IN SPEARFISH ON YOUR NEXT BLACK HILLS TRIP AND SEE JOHANNA'S COLLECTION.

IN TODAY'S SOCIETY THE TERM "HERO" IS OFTEN USED TO DESCRIBE SPORTS STARS OR HOLLYWOOD CELEBRITIES.

BUT IN ITS TRUEST DEFINITION, A HERO IS SOMEONE WHO SHOWS GREAT COURAGE IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY.

WE MET JUST SUCH A MAN WHEN WE TALKED WITH MICHAEL FITZMAURICE.

MICHAEL WAS AWARDED THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR FOR HIS ACTIONS DURING A BATTLE IN VIETNAM.

BUT, ACCORDING TO MIKE, HE WAS JUST DOING HIS JOB.

>> THE DATE OF OCTOBER 15, 1973, IS ONE THAT IS FOREVER ETCHED IN THE MIND OF MICHAEL FITZMAURICE.

THAT IS THE DAY THAT HE WENT FORM BEING A VIETNAM VTERAN TO A MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT.

THIS STORY, HOWEVER, BEGINS MUCH EARLIER, WHEN MIKE AND SOME OF HIS FRIENDS WERE GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL.

>> FOUR OR FIVE OF US GUYS OUT OF SENIOR CLASS WENT DOWN AND ENLISTED IN THE SERVICE, AND I THINK WE ALL WENT TO DIFFERENT BRANCHES, AND AS FAR AS I KNOW, I WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT WENT TO VIETNAM.

I WAS STATIONED AT CAMP EAGLE, AND THEN WE HELICOPTERED IN ALL OVER THE I-CORPS.

FINALLY ENDED UP ON KSISAN.

IT WAS THICK AND WE WERE IN A MOUNTAINOUS AREA, AND I WAS IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE, AND THERE WERE DAYS I DIDN'T THINK I CAN MAKE IT.

I KNOW I WOULDN'T TODAY, BUT-- THEY HAD ELEPHANT CRAFTS, JUST LIKE BLADES, AND A LOT OF STREAMS THAT WERE DEEPP AND FAS, AND WE HAD LIKE A LIVING BUNKER WHICH WAS PRETTY BARE, SO THERE WERE-- WE DID YOU GO TRENCHES DOWN TO THE FIGHTING POSITION SO YOU WOULDN'T HAVE-- WE DID YOU GO TREN-- DUG TRENCHES SO YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO BE ABOVE GROUND IF WE HAD AN ATTACK.

I MEAN, THE WHOLE COMPLEX WAS PRETTY MUCH CONNECTIONED THAT WAY.

WHEN WE WERE IN KAISON, JUST TO GUARD THE AIRSTRIP WHERE THEY WERE GOING INTO LAOS, IT WAS REAL GOOD DUTY UNTIL THAT NIGHT THEY OVERWHELMED-- ABOUT THREE DAYS, WE GOT ROCKETED AND THEN I SUPPOSE IT WAS MARCH 23, THEY HAD A GROUND AAS A RESULT ON US AND THEY WERE-- GROUND ASSAULT ON US AND WE WERE TRYING TO GET BACK TO THE HELICOPTERS.

LUCKILY, I WAS AWAKE AND-- PROBABLY SAVED ME.

WE JUST HEARD A LOT OF EXPLOSIONS AND PEOPLE YELLING AND SCREAMING, AND WHEN I WENT OUT OF THE BUNKER, THEN THEY STARTED THROWING GRENADES IN AND... >> THE DETAILS OF THAT BAMGTS ARE DIFFULT FOR MIKE TO TALK ABOUT.

AT A RECENT CEREMONY IN HOT SPRINGS TO DEDICATE THE VETERANS' HOME IN MIKE'S HONOR, GOVERNOR WILLIAM JANKLOW RED A NARRATIVE OF THE EVENT OF THAT EVENING.

>> SPECIALIST FITZ MARCH REST, THIRD PLATOON, DTROOP, 17TH CALVARY, 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION, DISTINGUISHED HIMSELF ON MARCH 23, 1971, IN THE REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM.

SPECIALIST FITZ MARCH REST AND THREE OTHER SOLDIERS WERE OCCUPYING A BUNKER WHEN A COMPANY OF NORTH INDIVIDUAL THAT PLEASE INFILTRATED THE AREA.

AT THE ONSET OF THE ATTACK, HE OBSERVED THREE EXPLOSE IRV CHARGES WHICH HAD BEEN THROWN ABOUT THE BUNKER BY THE ENEMY.

REALIZING THE IMMEDIATE DAMAGER TO HIS COMRADES AND WITH POLICE DISREGARDS FOR HIS PERSONAL SAFETY, HE HURLED TWO OF THE CHARGES OUT OF THE BUNKER.

HE THEN THROUGH HIS FLACK INVESTIGATE AND HIMSELF OVER THE REMAINING CHARGE.

BY THIS COURAGEOUS ACT, HE ABSORBED THE BLAST AND SHIELDED HIS FELLOW SOLDIERS.

ALTHOUGH SUFFERING FROM SERIOUS MULTIPLE WOUNDS, HAD A PARTIAL LOSS OF SIGHT, HE CHARGED OUT OF THE BUNKER AND ENGAGED THE ENEMY.

UNTIL HIS RIFLE WAS DAMAGED BY A BLAST OF AN ENEMY HAND GRENADE.

WHILE IN SEARCH OF ANOTHER WEAPON, HE ENCOUNTERED AND OVERCAME ANOTHER ENEMY SAPPER IN HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT.

HAVING OBTAINED ANOTHER WEAPON, HE THEN RETURNED TO HIS ORIGINAL FIGHTING POSITION AROUND INFLICTED ADDITIONAL KAURKTS ON THE ATTACKING ENEMY.

ALTHOUGH SERIOUSLY WOUNDED, SPECIALIST FITZ MARCH REST REFUSED TO BE MEDICALLY EVACUATED.

HE INSISTED ON REMAINING AT HIS POST.

SPECIALIST FITS MARCH REST'S CONSPICIOUS GALLANTRY, EXTRAORDINARY HEROISM, AND ACTION AT THE RISK OF HIS LIFE, CONTRIBUTED SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE OF THE POSITION, AND IT RESULTED IN SAVING THE LIVES OF MANY OF HIS FELLOW SOLDIERS.

THESE AS OF HEROISM GO BEYOND AND ABOVE THE CALL OF ANYONE'S DUTY.

THEY ARE IN KEEPING WITH THE HIGHEST TRADITIONS OF THE MILITARY SERVICE, AND THEY REFLECT GREAT CREDIT ON SPECIALIST FITZMAURICE.

AND THE UNITED STATES ARMY.

>> IT WAS THE BRAVERY THAT MIKE DISPLAYED DURING THAT BATTLE FOR WHICH HE HAS BEEN AWARDED THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR.

>> I WAS WORKING ON THE PACKING HOUSE IN HURON, SOMEBODY CALLED OUT THERE AND SAID, YOU'RE GOING TO BE AWARDED A MEDAL, AND YOU HAVE TO BE IN WASHINGTON ON WHATEVER DAY IT WAS, AND SO THAT ENDED MY DAY AT WORK THERE.

>> SHORTLY AFTER THAT DAY, MIKE AND HIS FAMILY WENT TO WASHINGTON, D.C., FOR THE PRESENTATION CEREMONY.

MIKE WAS PRESENTED HIS MEDAL BY PRESIDENT RICHARD M. NIXON, AND THE TWO OF THEM WERE ABLE TO VISIT FOR A FEW MOMENTS.

AFTERWARDS, MIKE AND HIS FAMILY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO TOUR OUR NATION'S CAPITOL.

BUT IN MIKE'S EYES, HE REALLY DIDN'T DO ANYTHING SPECIAL.

>> I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING MORE THAN ANYBODY ELSE WOULD HAVE DONE, I DON'T FEEL.

LIKE I THINK I'M JUST AN AVERAGE FELLOW, AND I'M SURE MY OTHER FRIENDS THERE WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME FOR ME.

>> THE DEDICATION OF THE VETERANS' HOME CAME AS AN UNEXPECTED HONOR.

>> IT'S PRETTY AWESOME.

I MEAN, HARD TO EVEN DESCRIBE IT.

IT'S A-- I REALLY LIKE VETERANS AND I DON'T THINK YOU COULD HAVE GIVE ME A BETTER HONOR THAN HE DID.

>> WITH ALL OF THE HONORS THAT HE HAS RECEIVED, MIKE HAS A SIMPLE MESSAGE FOR EVERYONE WHO LOOKS AT HIM AS A HERO.

>> WELL, I ENJOY GOING TO THE-- TO EVERYTHING, BUT, I MEAN, THERE'S A LOT MORE PEOPLE OUT THERE THEY CAN-- THAT PROBABLY NEED SOMETHING DEDICATED TO THEM THAN I DO, BUT I'M REALLY PROUD TO HAVE THE VETERANS' HOME NAMED FOR ME.

I THANK EVERYBODY IN SOUTH DAKOTA.

>> AND WE WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU, MIKE; WE ARE ALL BETTER FOR KNOWING YOU.

>> ONE CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT THIS WORLD WOULD BE LIKE WITH MORE PEOPLE LIKE MIKE, JUST DOING THEIR JOB.

WELL, THAT 'S ABOUT IT FOR THIS EDITION OF "DAKOTA LIFE."

IF ANY OF YOU HAVE A SUBJECT YOU WOULD LIKE CONSIDERED FOR "DAKOTA LIFE," WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONTACT US.

OUR EMAIL ADDRESS IS: DAKOTA LIFE @ SDPB.ORG OR YOU CAN CALL US AT 1-877-TALK-PTV.

THAT'S 1-877-825-5788.

JOIN US NEXT TIME AS WE TRAVEL OUR GREAT STATE IN SEARCH OF DAKOTA LIFE.

FOR SOUTH DAKOTA PUBLIC TELEVISION, I'M MICHELLE VAN MAANEN.

THANKS FOR WATCHING.

♪ ♪ CLOSED-CAPTIONING BY PARADIGM REPORTING & CAPTIONING; LISA RICHARDSON, RPR, CRR.