Author Paul Wessel joined Liz Collin on her podcast to share more about his family’s incredible story.
“They All Came Home” is a new book about the stories of 36 cousins from the same Minnesota family who signed up and served in World War II. It’s a story of faith and family, along with heroes and honest values.
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Wessel’s great-grandfather Carl Frederick Conrad Nolte immigrated from Germany and ultimately settled in Fairmont, Minn.
“Carl established a family with nine kids, and in 1885 he bought a piece of land in Martin County near Fairmont,” Wessel explained while pointing out how “from those 12 children came 78 grandchildren, of which my father was the youngest, and 195 great-grandchildren.”
Ultimately, 36 cousins from the Nolte family would sign up and serve in World War II, in every branch of the U.S. military.
Wessel spoke about how his research really took off over the past two years. “The more I dug, the more amazed I became at what these guys did,” he said.
“There are a lot of stories. One that comes to mind is Clarence Luman, who was a B-24 bomber pilot. He had married a Nolte granddaughter, and he flew 35 missions in 80 days over France and Germany,” Wessel recalled.
“They were hit multiple times and on his last mission, as he was getting down off the aircraft, one of the maintenance guys came to him and put a piece of flack in his palm of his hand, and Clarence asked him, ‘Where did you get this from?’ He said, ‘I pulled it from your headrest,'” he said.
Wessel’s book, “They All Came Home,” may seem like family lore and nostalgia. However, it also bears a timely message for today — if not tomorrow.
“I think at this point in our country we’re looking for hope. We’re looking for models that we can reflect on and say, what does integrity look like? What does humility look like?” Wessel said.
He also pointed out how faith was an important part of the story of “The Nolte 36” — along with a few strange coincidences.
“What’s really ironic here is that at least 28 of the 36 were baptized by the same Lutheran pastor in Fairmont, Minnesota. And Fairmont — I don’t know if you knew this or not — was a prisoner of war camp for the German POWs,” Wessel said.
He went on to explain that, “this pastor, he actually went and preached the Gospel to these German prisoners after he had conducted worship services at St. Paul’s in Fairmont. But all of these guys were just men of faith as well.”
“They All Came Home” — the story of “The Nolte 36” — will officially launch next week on Nov. 14 at the American Legion Post 36, which, coincidentally, is located in Fairmont, Minn.
All are welcome to attend and register for the event.
“There’s such a family reunion vibe that’s coming up because a lot of these people haven’t seen each other for decades. And this book seems to be the center of gravity for these people and giving them a reason to come home,” Wessel said.
You can also pre-order the book at nolte36.org.
Liz Collin
Liz Collin is a multi-Emmy-Award-winning investigative reporter, news anchor, and producer who cares about Minnesota. She is the producer of The Fall of Minneapolis and Minnesota v We the People documentary films, and author of the Amazon best-selling book, They’re Lying: The Media, the Left, and The Death of George Floyd. Her work has prompted important state laws. Yet perhaps most of all, Liz has been giving a voice to the truth—and helping others tell their stories—for more than 20 years.
Dr. JC Chaix
Dr. JC Chaix is an editor, educator, and an expert in media studies. He wrote and directed the Alpha News documentary "The Fall of Minneapolis" and "Minnesota v We the People."
