October 1996
Volume 5 Number 1
Published by the WW II Roundtable
Edited by Jim and Jon Gerber
Welcome to the tenth year of the Harold C. Deutsch World War II History Roundtable. This
season should prove to be great. We have grown from an organization with about 25 -30 people
per meeting to now an average of 250 - 300 people per meeting. We thank you for your
attendance and your support. We continue to try to preserve the history of WW II through the
words of those who were there. With the multitude of books now available on WW II, virtually all
aspects of this war can be studied to whatever degree a person wishes. Unfortunately many are
trying to rewrite history to make it more politically correct, so it becomes necessary to preserve
the truth through groups such as the Roundtable. The Roundtable seeks to present the many
aspects of WW II through the individual stories of its participants. These individual stories are
what make up the “big picture”. These stories make up the very personal aspects of WW II. We
are fortunate that we have many individuals in this area that are willing to share with us their
personal stories.
Minnesota played a great part in WW II history. The following list of Minnesota’s role in WW II
was provided by Don Patton:
Fort Snelling played a major role in the war effort.
-300,000 men were inducted into service.
-600,000, almost 10% of those who served, passed through the post.
-Before 1943, a disproportionate share of those inducted at the Post went into the Air Corps
because of high scores on classification tests.
The B-25’s used in the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo were modified with auxiliary gas tanks and
lightened at the Mid-Continent Airlines hanger at Wold-Chamberlain Field.
The Destroyer USS Ward, manned mainly with crew from Minnesota, fired the first shots at an
enemy submarine at Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941.
A Company from the 194th Tank Battalion of the Minnesota National Guard from Brainerd fought
at Corregidor in the Philippines, with survivors being subjected to the Bataan Death March.
Lt. George Bush flew out of the Naval Air Station at Wold-Chamberlain Field, and may have
soloed here.
Prisoner of War camps for Germans and Italians were positioned around the State to supplement
the shortage of man power.
The Language School at Ft. Snelling, and later at Camp Savage, trained over 6000 men and
women as interpreters of enemy messages. Graduates served in every combat unit in the Pacific.
The ammunition arsenal in Arden Hills produced shells to win the war.
CG-4A WACO gliders were manufactured at a facility in St. Paul on Minnehaha Ave. with
components from Villaume Lumber Company.
When the need for gliders was ending, the facility was converted to make computers to break
enemy codes by Commander Bill Norris. This proved to be the beginning for Sperry UNIVAC and
Control Data.
The Norden Bomb Sights were made here and installed at the hanger at Holmen field now
occupied by 3M and the Army Reserve.
Honeywell produced numerous components in optics, electronics, and armaments for the war
effort.
Northern Ordinance produced naval gun turrets at the Fridley plant.
General Mills utilized its cereal-popping and other technologies to develop gun sights and other
precision equipment.
Cargill built landing craft at what is now Port Cargill in Savage.
The Mayo Clinic produced numerous innovations to save wounded soldiers. Hormel produced
SPAM.
Governor Harold Stassen resigned his office to serve as Administrative Officer for Admiral Halsey
in several major Pacific naval engagements. Governor Stassen’s war memoirs need to be written.
Most of the cadre for the Ranger units came out of the 34th Infantry Division from Minnesota.
The August 1, 1943 low-level raid on the Rumanian Oil Refineries had several Minnesotans
making notable contributions.
Several air aces, both Air Corps and Navy, came from Minnesota (Ken Dahlberg of Miracle Ear,
Bob Bertelsen of Bertelsen Office Supply, Bud Tordoff of the University of Minnesota, Bud
Peterson, etc).
Hundreds of Minnesotans received Medals for Bravery; Medals of Honor, Distinguished Flying
Crosses and Purple Hearts.
The last survivor of the original Iwo Jima flag raising on Mount Suribachi, Chuck Lindberg, lives in
Richfield.
The 8th Air Force Historical Society is headquartered in St. Paul.
Red Wing Shoes made boots and shoes for the war effort.
Hudson Sprayer manufactured equipment for military use.
Smead Manufacturing made paper products for military use.
As you can see, Minnesota played a vital role in WW II in many different ways.
The Purple Heart Medal
By War Department General Orders No. 3, dated February 22, 1932, the Purple Heart
established by General George Washington at Newburgh, August 7, 1782, during the War of the
Revolution, was revived out of respect to his memory and military achievements.
The original decoration, of which only one example is known to exist, was of purple sprigged silk,
edged with a narrow binding of silver, and was sewn on the left breast of the uniform coat, over
the wearers heart.
The revised decoration, is a heart-shaped medal, gold in color, with its center of purple enamel.
On the obverse is a relief bust of George Washington in the uniform of a General of the
Continental Army. On the reverse appears the inscription “For Military Merit”, with the owners
name engraved beneath. The Washington coat of arms is incorporated in the ring that attaches it
to a purple ribbon of watered silk, bordered with a narrow white stripe.
Further reading about tonight’s program:
Spain: the Vital Years
By Luis Bolin
J.B. Lippincott, London 1967
The Spanish Civil War, 1936-39: American Hemispheric Perspective
By Mark Falcoff and Fredrick B. Pike
University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln
1982
Crusade of the Left: The Lincoln Battalion in the Spanish Civil War
By Robert A. Rosenstone
Pegasus, New York, 1969
Check for these books in your library or at Kisselberg Books in Stillwater.
We continue to ask for your stories, anecdotes or experiences to print in the Round Tablette.
Your personal stories help to contribute to our knowledge of WW II. The stories need not be long
but enough to give us a glimpse of your personal story of WW II.
See you at the October meeting.