6/19/2008:
Most of us have seen such films as The Fugitive or U.S. Marshals, in which Tommy Lee Jones and other U.S. Marshals hunt down and capture the likes of Harrison Ford or Wesley Snipes. While the work of real U.S. Marshals does not always involve international espionage or chasing men over waterfalls, it does provide crucial federal security and law enforcement services.
The United States Marshal Service has been serving our country since 1789, making it the nation’s oldest federal law enforcement agency. Headquartered across the Potomac from Washington D.C., US Marshals are presidentially appointed to one of 94 federal judicial districts. They “protect the federal judiciary, operate the Witness Security Program, transport federal prisoners and seize property acquired by criminals through illegal activities.” In addition to this large workload, US Marshals capture more federal fugitives than all other law enforcement agents combined.
In February of 1983, George L. Tennyson was sworn in as the United States Marshal for the District of North Dakota. Mr. Tennyson’s appointment was but a continuation of his long history of work for our nation. From 1951 through 1954, Tennyson served in the United States Navy aboard the destroyer USS Caperton during and after the Korean War. After leaving the Navy, he spent time as a private investigator for a law office, until March of 1956 when he was appointed Deputy Sheriff of Pennington County, South Dakota. He later resigned from the Sheriff’s Office, to accept his first appointment as a US Marshal. On this date, June 19th 1969, George Tennyson was confirmed by the US Senate as a United States Marshal for South Dakota. George Tennyson continued working in South Dakota with the Marshal Service until tragedy struck in 1983. Kenneth Muir, a U.S. Marshal in North Dakota was killed outside the town of Medina while attempting to apprehend members of Posse Comitatus. Following Muir’s death, Tennyson agreed to assist with the Marshaling duties in North Dakota and served in the state for over a year.
After a life in service to his country George Tennyson retired from the U.S. Marshal Service in August of 1989.
Written by Lane Sunwall
Sources
U.S. Marshal Service Homepage
http://www.usmarshals.gov/duties/factsheets/general.pdf
U.S. Marshal Service Info on George Tennyson
http://usmarshals.gov/district/sd/pages/profiles/glt/glt.htm