Milton Hetland
March 24, 1922-Feb. 21, 2018
Milton Hetland, 95,
Bismarck, formerly of
Minot and Deering, ND,
passed away on Wednes-
day, February 21, 2018 in
Bismarck.
Milton Stanley Hetland
was born March 24, 1922
in Ellendale, Minnesota to
Austin and Osmunda
(Sandvik) Hetland (immi-
grants from Norway).
After Milt was born, they
moved to South Dakota
where Austin ran a
hardware store. When
Milt was still young, they
moved to a farm near
Deering, ND. He attended
grade school at Grilley
School (a country school
near their farm) and
Minot High School in
Minot, ND. Upon graduat
ing from high school, he
attended Minot State
Teachers College. After
one year he ran out of mo-
ney and travelled to Cali-
fornia with his best friend
from high school, Chester
Jacobson, who was his fu-
ture wife’s older brother.
They enrolled in classes
to learn the craft of weld-
ing and then worked as
welders in the shipyards
building ships. When
World War II broke out,
Milt enlisted in the Army.
While in basic training,
his drill instructors ap-
pointed him to be the
trainee platoon sergeant.
He was promoted to Ser-
geant shortly after basic
training. He also took any
test offered, including
scholastic aptitude tests.
Because he scored high
enough on the aptitude
tests that after basic train-
ing, he was sent to college
instead of the war in Eu-
rope through the Army
Specialized Training Pro-
gram (ASTP). Through
this program he attended
Stetson College and Rol-
lins College in Florida,
and then attended George-
town University in Wash-
ington, DC, majoring in
engineering. One of his
more famous classmates
was Henry Kissinger.
After a year at George-
town, World War II was
escalating in Europe;
therefore, the ASTP pro-
gram was terminated. Milt
was then sent to Europe
as an infantryman in the
406th Infantry Regiment
of the 102nd Infantry
Division (Ozarks), where
he participated in the Bat-
tle of the Bulge, then
crossing the Roer and
Rhine rivers, and finally
meeting the Red Army at
the Elbe River three weeks
before VE Day. He was
wounded and awarded
the Purple Heart, of which
he was very proud. He
was also awarded the
Bronze Star with the V
Device for Valor, the
Combat Infantryman’s
Badge,
European-African-Middle
Eastern Campaign Medal,
WWII Victory Medal, and
a Presidential Unit Cita-
tion. He discharged from
the Army as a Sergeant
and returned home in
March 1946.
On June 24, 1947, Mil-
ton was united in mar-
riage to Caryl L. Jacobson
in Minneapolis, MN. He
worked as a welder at
large construction sites all
over the United States.
They lived in a trailer
house moving from job
site to job site. While he
was working at various
construction sites, he
bought land near Deering,
ND, where he grew up. In
the 1950s the Minot Air
Force Base was built, and
this provided employ-
ment for him. He moved
his trailer back to the farm
yard where he grew up,
which was only 20 miles
from the Minot Air Force
Base. He then bought
more land and built a
house on it and lived
there for over 50 years,
during which he contin-
ued to work in construc-
tion while also farming
his land, raising cattle,
and gardening. For his
cattle, he also did artifi-
cial insemination and
some C-sections. His pet
name for his farm was
“The Poor Farm.” Milt and
Caryl raised 3 sons Bruce,
Brian, and Wayne. Later,
they moved to Minot, ND
because of Caryl’s health
issues. Caryl died on De-
cember 11, 2014, and in
June 2015 he moved to
Bismarck, ND.
Milt and Caryl spent the
winters in Mesa, Arizona
for over 30 years where he
enjoyed golfing, hiking,
and socializing. They both
loved to travel, and they
travelled all around the
United States including
Hawaii and Alaska. They
went on cruises through
the Panama Canal, Alaska,
the Caribbean, South
America, and the South
Pacific. They also
travelled to Mexico, Cana-
da, Australia, New Zea-
land, Fiji, Norway and
China, and of course he
marched through France,
Belgium, and Germany
during WW II (or as Milt
told one of his grandsons
“I backpacked thru
Europe”).
Milt was well known
for his sense of humor,
his teasing, joking, and
outgoing personality. His
9 grandchildren and 12
great-grandchildren
brought a big smile to his
face each time they visit-
ed him.
Milton was a member of
St. Olaf Lutheran Church
rural Deering, ND, then
Hope Lutheran Church in
Glenburn, ND.
Milton is survived by:
three sons: Dr. Bruce (Peg-
gy) Hetland, Bismarck,
ND, Brian Hetland,
Norwich, ND, and Wayne
Hetland, Great Falls, MT;
five grandsons: Eric Het-
land, Dr. Andrew (Melis-
sa) Hetland, Scott (Ange-
la) Hetland, Nicholas Het-
land, and Austin Hetland;
three granddaughters:
Brenda (Jim) Dinan, Tere-
sa (Lonnie Jaeger) Het-
land, Caryl Hetland;
twelve
great-grandchildren: Brett,
Annalise, Nathaniel,
Harper, Myles, Reid,
Ethan, Bergan, Addysen,
Hayden, William, Aliesha;
sisters-in-law: Lola Het-
land, Elaine Hetland, and
brother-in-law Jim (Shir-
leen) Clute. Several nieces
and nephews also survive.
Milton was preceded in
death by: his parents,
wife of 67 years Caryl, a
grandson Bradley James
Hetland, daughter-in-law
Doris Walls Hetland and
siblings; three sisters, Ida
Bagley, Selma Orndorf,
Ione Clute; and two broth-
ers, Arthur and Earl.
Visitation: There will
be no reviewal, however,
friends may sign a guest
register one hour prior to
the service at the church.
Memorial service: Mon-
day, February 26, 2018 at
10:30 a.m. at Bethany
Lutheran Church, Minot.
Burial: Will take place
in the spring at St. Olaf
Lutheran Cemetery, Deer-
ing, ND.
Thompson-Larson Fun-
eral Home, Minot