Minnesota in World War II

What was the reality of war for a state so far from Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan? Learn the stories of ordinary people who went to far flung battlefields or struggled with rationing to provide the tools of war to those in the combat zone. Was Minnesota's story unique? What was the Greatest Generation of the Gopher State like?

Can veterans and those left behind tell us about how we can deal with disruption and global challenges? Did they have something special which we don't or can we take assurance that what people like us did before we can do again? Journey back to another time and learn from the experiences of those who fought and waited 80 years ago.

Colonel Don Patton is Executive Director of the Harold Deutsch World War II Roundtable which hosts presentations by leading writers about World War II at the Minnesota Historical Society. The Roundtable has an active student outreach program, includes the voices of World War II veterans in its programs, and organizes annual tours to the battlefields of the war. Colonel Patton is an army veteran who served thirty years including 13 years in command positions with two battalion commands. He graduated from Texas A&M as a Distinguished Military Graduate and received an MBA from the University of Minnesota where he studied under Harold Deutsch a renowned professor of history especially that of World War II. Patton has received the Meritorious Service Medal five times, the Minnesota Superior Civilian Service Award by the Adjunct General of Minnesota and was recognized in 2016 as one of 25 outstanding Minnesota Veterans by the Minnesota Humanities Center for Leadership and Community Contributions.