H. F. Gierke III (born Herman Fredrick Gierke III; March 13, 1943 – August 7, 2016) was an American

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

who served as the Chief Judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces The United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (in case citations, C.A.A.F. or USCAAF) is an Article I court that exercises worldwide appellate jurisdiction over members of the United States Armed Forces on active duty and other pers ...

from 2004 to 2006. He was a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, from 1991 to 2004, and a

Justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court The following is a list of the North Dakota Supreme Court justices, split into their respective courts. North Dakota Supreme Court justices {{Lists of US Justices * Supreme Court Justices North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state i ...

from 1983 to 1991. Gierke also served as the National Commander of

The American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is made up of state, U.S. territory, and overseas departments, and these are in turn made up of lo ...

, from 1988 to 1989.

Early life and career

Gierke earned his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

and

juris doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degrees from the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...

. From there, he went on to serve in the

United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army, also known as the U.S. Army JAG Corps, is the legal arm of the United States Army. It is composed of Army officers who are also lawyers and who provide legal services to the Army at a ...

between 1967 and 1971. This included one year as a military judge in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. During his active military service, he was awarded the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

, Vietnam service and

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

medals. In 1983,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Allen Olson Allen Ingvar Olson (born November 5, 1938) is an American Republican politician and attorney who served as the 28th governor of North Dakota from 1981 to 1985. He defeated incumbent Art Link in the 1980 election and served one term. Education ...

appointed him Justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court. He was elected in 1984 and re-elected in 1986 for a 10-year term. In 1991, he resigned from the North Dakota Supreme court when

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

appointed him to the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. On October 1, 2004, he assumed duties of chief judge on the court of appeals. He later moved to

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, where he was a visiting professor, distinguished jurist, and adjunct instructor at the

Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law The Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law (also known as Barry Law) is located in Orlando, Florida. The school is an academic college of Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida. Barry Law offers various programs for full-time and part-time students ...

(1998-2008).

The American Legion

A member of Carl E. Rogen Post No. 29 of The American Legion in

Watford City Watford City (Hidatsa: abaʔaruʔush), founded in 1914, is a city in and the county seat of McKenzie County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 6,207 at the 2020 census, making it the thirteenth largest city in North Dakota. Becaus ...

, North Dakota, his slogan as national commander was "Proud to be an American." Prior to his election as national commander at the Legion's 70th National Convention in

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, he served as commander of Post No. 29 (at age 36), as Department of North Dakota commander from 1983-1984, and as national vice commander from 1985-1986. During his tenure as national commander, Gierke was called upon to lead the initial challenges to the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

's ''

Texas v. Johnson ''Texas v. Johnson'', 491 U.S. 397 (1989), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court held, 5–4, that burning the American flag was protected speech under the First Amendment to the Constitution, as do ...

'' decision, which extended free speech rights to desecration of the

U.S. flag The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the c ...

Death

Gierke died on August 7, 2016, at the age of 73, in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Honors

Gierke served as President of the North Dakota Blue Star Bar Association (1982-1983) and was an award winning professor at the

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest top law school in the national capital. GW Law offers the largest range of cou ...

and

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...

. In 2002 and 2004, he was honored as the Best Adjunct Faculty Member at CUA's

Columbus School of Law The Columbus School of Law, also known as Catholic Law or CUA Law, is the law school of the Catholic University of America, a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. More than 400 Juris Doctor students attend Catholic Law ...

.Students Pronounce the Sentence: He's Great!
". 'The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law.'

References

External links