Wayne Quist knew as he poured through his uncle’s things that Joe Haan’s story needed to be told. Quist remembers when Uncle Joe sent him Nazi war trophies in 1945, when Quist was in third grade in Northfield. He remembers his family tracking Haan’s progress during the way, whenever Haan could be sent home and from WCCO radio reports outlining where Gen. George Patton’s army was in Europe, which Haan served in.

That’s why Quist, a retired Air Force colonel and military author, wrote about his uncle in “God’s Angry Man: The Incredible Journey of Private Joe Hann,” which was released in 2010.

“It’s really a wonderful story,” Quist told the audience at the Hormel Historic Home Tuesday morning. Quist was in Austin Tuesday giving presentations about his book and his uncle.

“I realized I had to tell his story,” he said.

Quist, who’s written several books on the War on Terror having to do with militant Islamism, said Haan’s biography, told through Haan’s own poetry and journals that he kept throughout his life, was special in that it showcases two eras very important to U.S. history: The Great Depression and WWII.

Haan, born in 1918, grew up with a rough childhood, to put in mildly. His mother passed away when he was 8 years old, the youngest of five children. His father was an alcoholic, so Haan and two sisters were given up for adoption and went to live at the Owatonna Orphanage, where he was mistreated by the staff. He was adopted by a German farmer when he was 10, where he was cruelly punished and beaten almost every day until he ran away at age 17.

Haan joined the war efforts, eventually ending up as part of Patton’s army in 1944, pushing through France and on to Germany, writing as much as he could down, philosophizing about life, death and the meanings in each. Haan, who eventually won a Silver Star in the Battle of the Bulge, taught himself to read and write as well as call himself God’s Angry Man over the abuse he’d faced and overcome.

“I loved it,” said Bev Meyer. Meyer said she could remember when D-Day happened and Quist’s presentation struck a chord with her.

“I really think it’s something special,” she said.

Quist said Haan never spoke of the war with him, although Haan wrote about his experiences in his journals. Though Haan died in Houston, Texas in 1992, Quist never knew the full extent of Haan’s journeys until receiving journals, articles, memorabilia and military records from his cousin three years ago. It was enough materials that he stopped his work on a third book about Islam and the War on Terror to pour through his uncle’s accounts.

“Joe made a huge impact on me growing up,” Quist said. “He was really a good leader.”

Quist hopes to continue work on his third book, about the events surrounding the Arab Spring and technology’s role in pushing back militant Islamism. He also hopes to work on a book about Corporal William Cunningham, who served in the Iron Brigade during the Battle of Gettysburg. Quist has worked on that book since the 1970s, working with Haan at times as well.

Though Haan may be gone, Quist remembers him and hopes others will learn from Haan’s life.

“He wanted to be just a common man,” Quist said. “He was an iconoclast.”