[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 17, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S142]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO NILS BURINGRUD

 Mr. CRAMER. Madam President, I want to honor a very special 
North Dakota resident who turned 100 years old on January 11. Nils 
Martin Buringrud celebrated this landmark birthday in Fargo at a party 
with a small group of friends and later a dinner with his family.
  Nils was born January 11, 1924, to Nils and Marthe Buringrud in Thief 
River Falls, MN. His father was a farmer, and the family moved near the 
Red River Valley community of Kelso, ND, in 1930. They moved 3 years 
later to a place a few miles away southwest of the community of 
Hillsboro. In 1943, they moved to a new home southeast of Hillsboro, 
where Nils lived until he graduated from high school in 1942.
  That fall he moved to Spokane, WA, and then to McClellan Air Force 
Base near Sacramento, CA, where he worked in shipping airplane engines 
overseas to military bases in the Pacific. Nils returned home and 
helped farm for awhile before enlisting in the Marines in 1944 at the 
age of 22. During World War II, he served aboard an aircraft carrier 
that sailed through the Panama Canal and on to all the islands in the 
Pacific, along with Japan, China, India, and near the coast of Africa. 
He was an expert rifleman when the war ended.
  After being discharged from the Marines, he farmed with his brother-
in-law and sister and later delivered fuel to area farms. He married 
Elaine Ponto in 1947, and the newlyweds lived in a home on the 
Argusville farm of his brother-in-law and sister until 1949, when they 
bought a farmstead 3-and-a-half miles east of Gardner. There, they 
continued to farm and raised six children. Nils was active in the 
American Legion, and he and Elaine attended regular reunions with 
friends from his Marine unit. They lived there until 1993 when they 
sold their farm and moved to Fargo.
  Elaine died in 2006 and Nils continues to reside in Fargo in the home 
they purchased in 1998. His daughter Marcia now lives with him, and his 
life is filled with the activities of his four children who are still 
living and 11 grandchildren. He continues to drive and walks about an 
hour daily, weather permitting. While not the oldest living veteran in 
North Dakota, his family believes he may the oldest to still have a 
valid drivers license.
  North Dakota is home to more than 200 centenarians, and we consider 
them among our most treasured residents. Nils Buringrud embodies the 
very best of the Greatest Generation, growing up on a farm, moving out 
of State for awhile, enlisting to serve in World War II, and then 
returning home to raise a family and contribute to his community and 
State. He has remained a proud and active veteran, and his pioneer 
spirit, dignity, and hard work have brought him through many challenges 
and personal achievements. He is an inspiration to all of us.
  On behalf of all North Dakotans, I thank Nils for his service to our 
country and wish him a happy 100th birthday. I hope you enjoy continued 
good health and vitality for years to come.

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