South Dakota may not have any sea ports, but it has a large number of veterans who served in the Navy. The state is about to have its own chapter of the Navy League. The public organization supports service members and their units and families.
South Dakota is forming its first Navy League Council. Officials are holding a public ceremony to charter the council July 18 at the South Dakota Battleship Memorial in Sioux Falls
Debra Bodenstedt is a retired Navy captain and council organizer. She says the commissioning committee for the new submarine USS South Dakota inspired the formation of a state Navy League chapter. Bodenstedt says, even though South Dakota is landlocked, there are still strong ties to the Navy here.
“There are many families in South Dakota that are either have veterans in the sea services or have sons and daughters serving now whether it be the Navy, the Coast Guard, the Marine Corps, or the Merchant Marines, and I think everybody is proud of those and anything we can do to keep those folks visible in the minds of South Dakotans is very important," says Bodenstedt.
Bodenstedt says the council works to educate the public about the Navy’s core values. She says the group already has 40 charter members, but she hopes that number grows as the public learns more about the Navy League.