GRANITE FALLS, Minnesota, May 15, 2025—102-year-old veteran Del Thielke, New Ulm’s Veterans Day Celebration, and a teaser from “Held in Minnesota: Untold WWII POW Stories” will be featured on the next episode of Postcards, which airs Thursday, May 22, at 7 p.m. on Pioneer PBS. The episode repeats the following Sunday at 7 p.m. and Monday at 1:30 p.m. Check local listings and our showtimes landing page for air dates and times on other PBS stations in Minnesota and surrounding states.
Del Thielke of Duluth, Minnesota, is a Navy veteran born November 9, 1923. He served as an aviation ordnanceman aboard the USS Shipley Bay during World War II which participated in the invasion of Iwo Jima in a support role. After the war, Thielke was one of several volunteers sent to the beach to assist in the cleanup efforts. Following his military service, Thielke went to school in Chicago to become a photographer. After two years of working in a studio there, he relocated to Dawson, Minnesota, where he worked in the photography business for 57 years before retiring.
The State Street Theater in New Ulm, Minnesota, hosts a special annual Veterans Celebration on the eve of Veterans Day. The Postcards team documented the celebration in 2024, which featured inspiring speakers, a tribute to WWII Marine Veteran Paul Wojhan, and performances by the 204th Army Band.
Then, catch a sneak preview of a new Pioneer PBS special, “Held in Minnesota: Untold WWII POW Stories,” which dives into the forgotten history of twenty-one POW labor camps in Minnesota during WWII by way of a major POW camp in Algona, Iowa. Explore the stories of these communities coming to bumpy terms with the enemy, not just on their soil, but also tilling it during an extraordinary time in both Minnesota’s history and the world’s history. The full documentary is set to premiere on Memorial Day.
Individuals in Pioneer PBS’s viewing area can livestream this episode at pioneer.org/live. All episodes and segments can also be viewed on the PBS app and online at pioneer.org/postcards/, video.pioneer.org/show/postcards/, and youtube.com/@PostcardsOnPioneerPBS/.
About Postcards
Postcards is an award-winning art, culture, and history program produced by Dana Conroy with videography and editing by Kristofor Gieske and Ben Dempcy. The program is made possible by contributions from the voters of Minnesota through a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. The 2025 season is made possible by funding from Shalom Hill Farm, Explore Alexandria Tourism, Lake Region Arts Council, KRAM 96.7, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, and members of Pioneer PBS.
About Pioneer PBS
Established in 1966, Pioneer PBS is an award-winning, viewer-supported television station dedicated to sharing stories from rural Minnesota with the world. Pioneer PBS is headquartered in Granite Falls, Minnesota, with towers in Appleton, Worthington, and Fergus Falls. Pioneer PBS reaches more than a million people in rural areas and small towns in western Minnesota, the eastern Dakotas, and northern Iowa. Pioneer PBS is honored to be your television station—the only station in western Minnesota telling your stories and raising your voices into the media landscape. Our members help make programs like this possible with their generous support. For more information about Pioneer PBS or how you can help us make these stories a reality, visit pioneer.org/support or call 800-726-3178.
