Roosevelt/Wiegand was the guest speaker for the March virtual meeting of the Military Affairs Committee.

Wiegand, a representative of the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation, takes on the living history role of the 26th president of the United States. Before becoming president, Roosevelt had a ranch in the North Dakota Badlands in the Medora area in the late 1800s.

Roosevelt/Wiegand during the virtual presentation saluted all who support the United States Armed Forces, “most especially the Air Force personnel and the members of other service branches temporarily assigned at Minot Air Force Base, their families and dependents.”

“I am most delighted to be coming to you and addressing the good people of Minot,” said Roosevelt/Wiegand using the Zoom platform for his presentation.

Eloise Ogden/MDN Teddy Roosevelt, portrayed by Joe Wiegand, talks about his life and the U.S. military in a recent virtual presentation to the Minot Area Chamber Economic Development Corporation’s Military Affairs Committee.

He explained to the local Military Affairs Committee members that Minot has as its namesake his best friend from his years at Harvard College, Henry Minot. Both were classmates at Harvard for two years. They also co-authored a pamphlet on “Summer Birds of Franklin County, New York.” He said Henry Minot became an officer with James J. Hill’s Great Northern Railroad and when the railroad arrived in this area the senior officer of the railroad decided to name the new station after the junior vice president, hence the name Minot, North Dakota.

Roosevelt/Wiegand noted the base has the 5th Bomb Wing and the B-52s and the 91st Missile Wing. “Sometimes I also understand referred to as the “Rough Riders,” he said.

The “Rough Riders” was the name given to the First U.S. Cavalry led by Roosevelt, the famous unit fighting in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.

He also noted the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles of the 91st Missile Wing are named after the original Minutemen, members of the Massachusetts militia, who were known for being ready at a moment’s notice.

“We know now that all who serve in Minot are ready at a moment’s notice to stand up for the defense of our country, and I salute you for being ever ready,” he said.

Roosevelt/Wiegand referred to a time when he told an audience: “Speak softly and carry a big stick. You will go far.” He said it was an old African proverb that a man traveling from his own tribal region to other tribal regions could do so safely as long as he spoke diplomatically but it helped if he had a big stick and knew how to use it too.

“In my day the big stick was the United States Navy forward deployed and thoroughly prepared for action in case of war. Today the big stick is not any better represented (then) by that 5th Bomb Wing and 91st Missile Wing, and may I say one of my most prized possessions is a big stick (bully stick) presented to me in 2015 by the wonderful personnel at Minot Air Force Base,” he said.

He urged the group listening to his presentation to lobby members of Congress because military members cannot lobby them, and to make sure that “the entire country, newspaper outlets and now social media are calling in support of those men and women who serve that they are given the right tools, the right training, sufficient compensation to provide for their families and sufficient attention paid to their care and for their benefits after their active services are completed.”

Roosevelt/Wiegand said on July 11, Military Appreciation Day, in Medora, tickets to the Medora Musical will be complimentary for service members and veterans. He said this year there will be two Medora Musical performances that evening – 5:30 p.m. and again at 8:30 p.m.

He said he will be in Minot on Saturday, Aug. 7, to take part in the centennial celebration of Minot’s Roosevelt Park Zoo.

Roosevelt/Wiegand also pointed out there is a Roosevelt statue in Minot’s Roosevelt Park, the same statue that stands in Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York, and another replica in Portland, Oregon. But he said the Portland statue was torn down by “anarchist criminal vandals” and it’s probably now in storage.” He said another statue was installed recently in San Antonio, Texas. He said there’s also miniature of the statue at the old Mandan train depot in Mandan. He said the statues depict him when he was a lieutenant colonel at age 39.

He said Minot’s Roosevelt Park also has the North Dakota Medal of Honor Memorial.

As U.S. president, Roosevelt coined the term “bully,” meaning “wonderful.” He also referring to his office as a “bully pulpit” – a place or position to spread ideas and solve problems.

“There are bright things ahead and I wish you all the encouragement,” he told the the Military Affairs Committee members. “Bully for Minot and bully for the men and women of the United States Armed Forces.”