by Duke Doering
On April 4, 1937, Hot Springs native Leslie Jensen was both the governor of South Dakota and commander of 2nd Battalion, 147th Field Artillery, making him the only political figure in the state to be both commander of a National Guard unit and his own commander-in-chief. Today, this dual status would probably raise legal and regulatory issues; in South Dakota of that era, questions were never asked. Historians credit his ability to manage both assignments based on his reputation for being one of the most diplomatic persons to ever hold the office of governor.
Raised in South Dakota where his family owned and operated the People’s Telephone and Telegraph Company that served the Fall River county seat and the surrounding area, Jensen attended the Culver Military Academy in Indiana for high school and served as the regimental supply officer for the 4th South Dakota Infantry during its active duty service on the Mexican border in 1916-17. From there he went on to serve as the adjutant of the 147th Field Artillery Regiment in France during World War I, 1917-18. He returned home, earned a law degree from the University of South Dakota in 1921, and worked as a collector for the Internal Revenue Service in addition to maintaining his membership in the South Dakota National Guard.
Jensen served one term as a Republican governor from 1937 to 1939. He decided against running for a second term and subsequently lost a bid for the GOP nomination to run for the U.S. Senate against Yankton’s Chan Guerney. During his tenure, the state’s long-term overdraft status was eliminated and the highway patrol established.
When the 147th Field Artillery was called to active duty in 1940, then Lt. Col. Jensen went with the Regiment to Fort Ord, Calif., as the executive officer. When Col. Eugene Foster was relieved, Jensen was selected to command and was promoted to colonel as the 147th continued its service first in Australia and then across various islands in the South Pacific. Jensen continued in command until 1944, when he was selected to be liaison officer for Lt. Gen. Walter Krueger, commander of 6th Army, which included in various combinations of I, X, XIV, and XXIV Corps.
After the war, Jensen returned to Hot Springs to resume management of his family-owned telephone company. He died in an automobile accident in Rapid City on Dec. 14, 1964.
The Leslie Jensen Scenic Highway, part of U.S. Route 18, has been named in his honor. In 1987, the Governor Leslie Jensen House, his family residence, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
