Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities
18 Unique Stations from Border to Border
18 Unique Stations from Border to Border
Untold Stories | Memories and Stories of Minnesota Veterans from many era’s of service
Veterans' Voices: Leech Lake | Memories and stories of military veterans from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
The Secret War | Featuring the some of the stories of Minnesota Hmong Veterans in the Secret War of Laos
Minnesota in the Vietnam War | Stories of Minnesotans in the Vietnam War
Minnesota in World War I | Stories of Minnesotans in World War I
Minnesota in World War II | Stories of Minnesotans in World War II
Veterans' Voices: Rochester | Veterans’ Voices is a radio series exploring the knowledge, experience and leadership of Rochester service members. Veterans’ Voices is a radio series exploring the knowledge, experience and leadership of Rochester service members. Hosted by Britt Aamodt Veteran’ Voices is produced by KRPR and Ampers.
Korea | Memories and stories from Minnesota’s Korean War Veterans
Veterans' Voices Korea Podcast | Extended podcast versions of interviews with some of the Minnesota Veterans of the Korean War featured in our radio series Veteran’s Voices Korea. Made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage fund.
World War II | first-hand accounts of what it was like to serve in WWII
Native Warriors | Native American veterans explain why protecting our land and resources is an important part of Native culture and traditions
Vietnam | Stories and memories of Minnesota’s Vietnam veterans
Veterans' Voices Vietnam Podcast | Extended podcast versions of Kevyn Burger’s interviews with some of the Minnesota Vietnam Veterans featured in our radio series
Native Americans enlisted in large numbers during World War 2. Axel James Holmes, Sr., a member of an Ojibwe band now living on the Bois Forte reservation, joined when he was 20 years old. He reflects on his World War 2 service, first in New Guinea and then in the Philipines.
When World War 2 broke out, many Americans had not traveled far from where they lived. The call to service pulled young soldiers, sailors and Marines from farms, small towns and cities and dropped them into foreign lands in Europe, Asia and North Africa. Don Wickstrom, seen here in 2014, and Bernie Lieder were among the Minnesotans who were not well-traveled when the war broke out but saw the world as a result of their military service
Decades after World War 2 ended, US veteran Lester Schrenk spent many hours trying to find out more about the German pilot who had the chance to shoot his plane down–but did not. Schrenk first corresponded with –and eventually traveled to Germany to meet — the enemy pilot who spared his life.
It wasn’t just the battlefield that posed a deadly danger to US servicemen in World War 2. George Vandersluis, pictured here in 2014, survived a bout of Dengue fever. Minnesota veteran Axel Holmes contracted a nasty case of hepatitis. Both servicemen were exposed to the diseases while serving in the Pacific theater.
The Serviceman’s Readjustment Act, more commonly known as the GI Bill, allowed millions of returning World War 2 veterans to go to college, making higher education widely available to the American middle class for the first time. Veterans Jeanne Bearmon, who had been a WAC, and Sherman Garon, an Army veteran originally from Duluth, recall how their military service allowed them to get a college education at the University of Minnesota.
Claude Williams was flying a bombing mission from England when his plane was shot down and he was taken prisoner by the Germans. He recalls the event, and his sister remembers how the family heard about his capture. She also tells about how the family on the home front in South St. Paul tried to reach the imprisoned soldier with packages shipped through the auspices of the International Red Cross.
The American public was horrified by the surprise Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor, which pulled the U.S. into war. The dramatic event prompted many patriotic young Americans to join the military. Minnesotans Bill Olson and Herbert Gager recalled how they were inspired to enlist immediately after the shocking events of December 7, 1941.
