Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities
17 Unique Stations from Border to Border
17 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
A number of relatives in Minnesotan Bill Olson’s family joined the Navy during World War 2, including an uncle who died while serving. When it came time for Olson to join the military, he chose the Navy, too. His assignment was working on the relief crew of a submarine tender to help keep U.S. submarines in tip-top shape during the war.
When Bruce Cottington enlisted in 1942, he joined the Navy, but was later assigned to a new Marine Corps unit called the Amphibians. The unit fought on land and sea, and Cottington prepared battle sites in the Pacific during World War 2. (The amphibian unit was the precursor to the Navy SEALS.)
Fort Snelling had a prominent role at both the beginning and the end of the military careers for thousands of servicemen and women who joined the armed forces during World War 2. The historic fort served as both an induction center and a separation point. Minnesota veterans Walter Grotz and Claude Williams shared memories of their passage through the old post.
Many of the young Americans who signed up to fight in World War 2 were initially swept away by their patriotism and a passion for their cause and eager to go to war. Once on the battlefield, they found the reality of combat to be far more horrific than they could possibly have imagined. It’s one of the reasons veterans of the World War 2 generation have been reluctant to share their memories.
Not every member of the armed services saw combat, but many jobs that were not on the front lines were critical to the US effort to win the war. Jeanne Bearmon who served in the Women’s Army Corps (or WAC) explains the sensitive work that she was assigned to as a World War 2 personnel officer.
During World War 2, Minnesotan Walter Grotz was shot down over Germany and then shipped to a Polish POW camp. More than 60 years after he was released, he returned as an honored dignitary when the site was dedicated as a war memorial and was presented with the gift of a sculpture of a US aviator to honor all American veterans.
Walter Grotz was drafted and entered military service just one week after he graduated from Delano High School. He flew raids in a B-24 until he was shot down over Germany and sent to a POW camp in Poland. Later, the Germans marched Grotz and his fellow American prisoners to Berlin, a harsh 520 mile journey.
Claude Williams, pictured here in 2014, was shot down while on a bombing run over Belguim and held as a prisoner of war by the Germans. Williams was held in a POW camp in Barth, Germany, kept with 19 other men in one small room. The friendships formed in those close quarters lasted long after the war was over.
After joining the Women’s Army Corps, WAC Jeanne Bearmon was assigned to helping to recruit other women to join the military. Because women had never officially served in a U.S war before World War 2, it was quite a challenge to educate female recruits and the public about the contributions that women were needed to make.
After Bernie Lieder completed his Army service on the front lines in the European theater in World War 2, he came home to Minnesota and his history of service continued. Lieder went on to be elected to the Minnesota legislature, where he was the last serving WW2 vet and championed veterans causes, including the sponsoring the bill that established the state’s WW2 memorial at the State Capitol, pictured here.
