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  • Find a copy of Scrappers : how the Heartland won World War II a documentary film.

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Download Discussion Questions written by the author, James J. Kimble, to help foster conversation.

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Host a scholar listed on the Speakers Bureau of Humanities Nebraska. Apply for a grant from Humanities Nebraska to finance your event. Public programs sponsored by not-for-profit organizations may be eligible for funding assistance from Humanities Nebraska. See https://humanitiesnebraska.org/speaker-bureau-policies/ for details on their Speaker's Bureau General Public Programs Eligibility requirements and for steps to book a speaker and to access application forms.

Prairie Forge: The Extraordinary Story of the Nebraska Scrap Metal Drive of World War II (Virtual Program Only) by James J. Kimble
What did Henry Doorly, Cornhusker football, and the patriotic spirit of Nebraskans have to do with the Allied victory in World War II? Find out in this talk from James J. Kimble, who will go behind the scenes of his research for Prairie Forge, the 2021 One Book One Nebraska title. You’ll step back into the dramatic home front in 1942, witness the scrap metal disaster that nearly derailed the Allied war effort, and see for yourself just why Nebraska was so central to winning the greatest war in history.

Sharpie: Nebraska's Queen of the Air by Diane Bartels
This Power Point presentation is based on Bartels' extensive research and book about Evelyn Sharp, a pioneering, teenage aviatrix who became a war hero. Sharp taught men to fly and was one of the first women to ferry U.S. Army Air Force fighters during World War II, freeing men for combat. The program is appropriate for students as well as adults.

Allied Invasion of Japan by Jack Campbell
With the use of declassified, former top-secret battle plans, Campbell tells the story of the planned Allied invasion of Japan in the last days of World War II. Scheduled for November 1, 1945, the invasion was called off in favor of atomic bombs, which were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This presentation also explores the subsequent debate over the use of nuclear arms.

Nebraska Spirit: The North Platte Canteen by Charlotte Endorf
During World War II, American soldiers from across the country rolled through North Platte, Nebraska, on troop trains en route to Europe and the Pacific. Learn the story of the community that turned a railroad depot into a legend and touched the lives of more than six million soldiers from 1942 to 1946. Charlotte salutes our humble Veterans who served in the military. This program is excellent for Memorial Day, July 4th, and Veterans Day.

Four Blue Stars in the Window: A Story of WWII by Barbara Eymann Mohrman
Mohrman uses diaries, logbooks, interviews, photographs and authentic World War II memorabilia to tell the story of her family's experiences during World War II. The program follows her father and three uncles as they move from the difficult dust bowl years into the major battles of the Great War including Tarawa, Saipan, Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The program also tells of those who waited at home.

Nebraskans Remember World War II by Doug Rung
In 1996, HN and five Nebraska communities sponsored the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit "Produce for Victory: Posters on the American Home Front, 1941-1945." Rung led his community's oral history project and helped to preserve a unique portion of Nebraska history by those who recounted their memories of war years. Travel back with Rung to the 1940s and World War II for stories about local military installations, the people involved with their operations, and how the war affected the economy and everyday life of many Nebraskans.

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