Dakota Datebook: Kenneth Charging

Sept. 26, 2018 — Kenneth Charging, a 1946 Elbowoods graduate, entered the military in late 1950 or early 1951. Following five or six weeks of training, he spent a short furlough with his family and was then shipped to the front lines in Korea.

Serving with the 19th Infantry Regiment of the 24th Infantry Division, Charging disappeared during battle on April 26, 1951. Back home, Charging’s family learned he was listed as missing in action on June 6. The family remained in limbo until right before Christmas, when Charging’s name appeared on a list of prisoners being held by Chinese Communists in the Chiangyong POW camp.

Arnie Charging, of Roseglen, N.D., says they later learned his brother and a few others managed to escape soon after they were caught. They headed toward friendly lines by traveling at night and eating stolen chickens, but after only a few days, they were recaptured and imprisoned.

In February 1952, the Charging family received a surprise letter from Kenneth. Arnie says it was censored and written on what looked like a piece of paper bag. The young prisoner reported he “was getting along fine” and asked his family “not to worry.” He said the “committee” had given them food and clothing. In reality, Arnie says, his brother’s Native Hidatsa upbringing had prepared him to survive in ways many other men couldn’t; many prisoners starved to death.

Charging’s father, George, never lost faith that Kenneth would survive. In fact, he planned a rodeo to celebrate his son’s homecoming and started building huge corrals on his ranch for the event. Sadly, a few months later, on July 8, the 59-year-old father took a rest while branding cattle, and a short time later, he was found dead of an apparent heart attack.

Arnie says he and others decided to fulfill his father’s vision. They completed the rodeo grounds, not knowing if they would ever be used for their intended purpose.

More than a year later, after 390 days in captivity, Kenneth Charging was released in a prisoner exchange. On Aug. 26, 1953, he sent a telegram to his family from Tokyo, stating he was leaving for the states. He didn’t learn of his father’s death until arriving in San Francisco.

Meanwhile, the McClean County Independent reported Mrs. Charging was ecstatic that her boy was coming home, and although she had recently suffered a heart attack, she was supervising the plans and finishing touches that would bring her husband’s dream to fruition.

The Kenneth Charging Homecoming Rodeo, with shows and traditional dancing, began on this date in 1953. The “Mountrail County Record” reported that people “came from the Standing Rock reservation in South Dakota, from Fort Peck and Wolf Point, in Montana, from other reservations in North Dakota, as well as various other places to attend the three-day event.”

In the midst of the celebration, a large crowd coaxed Kenneth to try his hand at his former specialty, calf-roping. The “Mountrail County Record” reported, “Although a little rusty with the lariat, he showed that he was still a good horseman.”

“Dakota Datebook” is a radio series from Prairie Public in partnership with the State Historical Society of North Dakota and with funding from the North Dakota Humanities Council. See all the Dakota Datebooks at prairiepublic.org, or subscribe to the “Dakota Datebook” podcast.