The silver service for the U.S.S. North Dakota was a gift from the people of the state and was presented to the ship in 1915. After the decommissioning of the ship in 1923, Frederick Cathro wrote to U.S. representative James Sinclair to see if the silver service could be returned home to North Dakota. In 1926, the silver service was returned to North Dakota on loan from the U.S. Navy. In 1997, the Navy asked Congress to amend the 1926 bill so that the state of North Dakota would own the silver service.
