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As the Cold War gripped the world with fear of espionage and nuclear winter, everyday Wisconsinites found themselves embroiled in the struggle. For decades, the state's nuclear missiles pointed to the skies, awaiting Soviet bombers. Joseph Stalin's daughter sought refuge in the small town of Richland Center. With violence in Vietnam about to peak, a cargo ship from Kewaunee sparked a new international incident with North Korea. Manitowoc was ground zero for a Sputnik satellite crash, and four ordinary Madison youths landed on the FBI's most wanted list after the Sterling Hall Bombing. Local author and chairman of the Midwest Chapter of the Cold War Museum Chris Sturdevant shares the tales of the Badger State's role in this titanic showdown between East and West.

Long before Japanese bombs rained down on Pearl Harbor, Milwaukee was the "Machine Shop to the World." Thanks to the city's large industrial base, factories quickly retooled and mobilized for wartime production. Harley-Davidson produced thousands of military motorbikes, and Falk Corporation churned out gears that turned the propellers on hundreds of ships. Locals sacrificed their lives for the cause--Mayor Carl Zeidler went missing at sea, USS Arizona captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh refused to leave the bridge of his burning battleship and Mildred Harnack joined the Nazi resistance movement and was executed on direct orders from Hitler. Embedded with German and American troops, Milwaukee journalists H.V. Kaltenborn, Louis Lochner and Dickey Chapelle sent dispatches from the front lines. Through past interviews and archival materials, author Meg Jones reveals these and other patriotic stories.