American Legion
Press Award
www.tristateveterans.com/fargolegion

KFGO Radio and Ed Milligan
the  “Veteran’s Hour”
www.tristateveterans.com/fargolegion/veteranshour

The Fargo American Legion, Gilbert C. Grafton, Post #2, is honored to nominate
KFGO Radio for the American Legion Press Award for hosting The Veteran's Hour.

The Veteran's Hour - “Freedom Is Not Free” - “All Gave Some, Some Gave All”

The Veteran's Hour is broadcast on KFGO, AM-790, once a month on a Saturday from 2:00-3:00pm. The radio signal can be picked up within a couple hundred mile radius of the Fargo/Moorhead area. The host of the show is Ed Milligan, a combat veteran who served nearly 25 years in the U.S. Army. Ed has guests on the show and takes calls during the hour long broadcast. ARBITRON ratings for KFGO on Saturdays afternoons during the FALL of 2005 indicated 1,100 people were listening in the immediate Fargo/Moorhead METRO area. The TSA, (Total Survey Area-including most of the regional counties,) estimated 3,000 people were listening to KFGO when the Veteran's Hour was broadcast.

Mission of the Veteran’s Hour: To educate military veterans, their spouses, children and in some cases their survivors and the general public on issues relating to military life, to foster patriotism, civic duty, fraternity, camaraderie, and to learn from each other, share our idea, thoughts and experiences to all, and to support the military veterans both in peace and war and help build a better life for all of them.

Format for the Veterans Hour:

First 15 minutes: Introduction of the Veterans Hour to the listening audience and explain our topic for this program and introduce the guests and announce that this is a call in program and have the audience participate in discussing the topic of our guests.

Next 15 minutes: Continue interviewing guests and bring up any highlights of the month or any announcements that need to be put out, such as patriotic events, fund raisers, etc.
35 minutes past the hour has been designated as the “Commissioner’s Corner” when Bob Hanson, North Dakota Commissioner of Veteran’s Affairs, calls in and gives an update on benefits and other information that effects US Military Veterans here in North Dakota. He has also made appearances live at the studio as pictured to the left.

1240-1257: Provide information that effects our veterans locally and at a national level. Continue to interview guests.
1257: Play taps and read words of honor for all of our fallen warriors

Jack Sunday, KFGO Program Director in 2003, worked with Ed Milligan to get the Veteran's Hour started and incorporated it into the KFGO lineup. Dan Michaels has developed many public service announcements (promo’s) for the show.

KFGO Producers work behind the scenes running the sound controls, playing audio clips, answering phones and putting callers on the program. The Veteran's Hour would not be possible without their talent and experience in producing the show. Bob Harris produced most of the shows from 2003-2006, Tank McNamara has produced many of the recent shows. We thank them both!

Ed Milligan joined the Army 31 January 1955 and retired 31 July 1979 with 24 1/2 years of service. He went to Vietnam in 1962 as an Advisor in the MeCong Delta Area in a little town called MyTho. He went back to Vietnam in 1970 for a year with the 542nd Signal Company in the center of Vietnam. Milligan was wounded by a motar round in September 1970, mostly minor wounds but a lot of them. Ed served in Korea in 1960 for a year and three years on Okinawa, he also spent 7 years in Germany and has been all over the states and at tours with the NDSU ROTC detachment in Fargo, North Dakota, for 2 years and was a senior advisor with a readiness group at Fort Snelling, Minnesota for 3 years.

Ed Milligan belongs to the DAV, VFW, Vietnam Veterans of America, American Legion and Uniform Services Disabled Retiree.


The Fargo American Legion is honored to nominate KFGO radio for the American Legion Press Award. KFGO has provided over 40 hours of broadcast time over the last three plus years for the purpose of dedicating the hour-long show for our area veterans, their families and the general public. The management and staff of KFGO and the Clear Channel network should be commended for providing this service. The experts at the controls, Bob Harris and Tank McNamara, make it all possible by producing a well run show. Jack Sunday, who initiated the program into the KFGO line-up and Dan Michaels who provides the promotional announcements have contributed greatly to the success of the show.

The hero that makes it all happen (although he would object to being called a hero) is 1st Sergeant Ed Milligan. Ed keeps on top of issues effecting veterans, arranges guests for each show and does an excellent job behind the mike each month. He works many hours between shows staying abreast of the issues and getting ready for the next one. Ed's dedication to his fellow veterans is to be commended.

Thank you KFGO and thank you Ed Milligan!

Dave Rice, Commander, Fargo American Legion