We meet at 7:00pm on the second Tuesday of every month from September through May at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul, unless otherwise noted below:
2023
September 12 JAMES HALLAS – Author of SAIPAN will discuss with Veterans how the capture of the Mariana Islands of Guam, Tinian, and Saipan was to provide basing for the B-29’s to bomb Japan and ensure Allied Victory (PDF) . . . . Photos of the author’s visit to the Twin Cities, including “Miss Mitchell” at the CAF: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (YouTube)
October 10 JAMES SCOTT – Author of BLACK SNOW will present the Bombing Strategy of General Curtis LeMay against Japan with Veterans and the course that led to the dropping of the Atomic Bomb (PDF) (YouTube)
October 24 ALEX KERSHAW – Author of AGAINST ALL ODDS will follow the campaigns of the 3rd Infantry Division from Africa to Bavaria and some of the Veterans that showed great heroism in combat. (PDF)
November 15 (WEDNESDAY) THE DR. HAROLD C. DEUTSCH LECTURE
RANDALL BYTWERK – Author of BENDING SPINES will discuss the Propaganda used by the Nazis to gain Power in Germany in the 1930s and maintain support of the Regime of Hitler (PDF)
December 12 MICHAEL WENGER – Author of A PITIFULL UNHOLY MESS will show the air battles between the Americans and Japanese during the attack on December 7, 1941, and discuss the early use of radar in its primitive state. (PDF)
2024
January 9 JAMES CONROY – Author of THE DEVILS WILL GET NO REST will discuss the Casablanca Conference of January 1943 where the clash of Strategies was agreed to as a Grand Strategy for the Allied victory in both Theaters (PDF)
February 13 ERIK BRUN, KYLE WARD and OLAF MINGE have collaborated to edit the THE VIKING BATTALION which is a collection of biographies of the Veterans from 99th Battalion which was formed of Norwegian-Americans to liberate Norway but show great Valor in the battles of Europe (PDF)
March 12 SELLING THE WAR – On the Homefront & Battlefront + JAMES KIMBLE – Author of MOBILIZING THE HOME FRONT will present the efforts to rally Patriotic support of the Public on the domestic front + TODD DePASTINO – Author of BILL MAULDIN will show how the cartoons of Willie and Joe in ‘Stars and Stripes’ was used to raise the morale of the troops in the battlefields (PDF)
March 26 EARLY WARNING of Enemy attacks – THE COAST WATCHERS+KAREN MOORE – Author of GRACIE and THE RADAR GIRLS will tell of the Coast Watchers in Hawaii whose mission was to prevent a repeat of December 7th at Pearl Harbor +MARY BERG – interviewed Beryl Rettinger who served as a Coast Watcher in England to alert the Allies of Nazi Air Attacks (PDF)
April 9 DAVID DWORAK – Author of WAR OF SUPPLY will discuss the Logistics efforts in the Mediterranean in the early part of the fighting in the European Theater (PDF)
May 14 UPDATE: MITCH YOCKELSON from Norwich and Naval Academy will speak on Normandy Airborne Operations, replacing DAVID O’KEEFE – Author of ONE DAY IN AUGUST will relate the tragic failure of the 1942 assault on Dieppe and how the lessons learned led to the success of D-Day on June 6, 1944 (PDF)
JOIN US FOR OUR SPRING TOUR TO NORMANDY! (May 8 – June 1, 2024) Click here for information.