In A Dime's Worth of Paper Plates, the author calls himself "a typical guy who became a teenager during the Depression years and became a man during World War II." Duke begins with his ancestors' history in Norway and their emigration to Iowa in 1892. His grandfather acquired a number of farms in the Norwegian community in central Iowa, and the author lived on one of these farms as a child. His childhood is idyllic, though the Depression and the Dust Bowl years take their toll on the adults in the community. His stepfather takes a job in Pecos, Texas in 1936 and the family adjusts to a new life in this little "cow town."

Following a year of college, Duke joins the army in 1944 and after training at Ft. Hood is sent overseas for two years. He serves in Company "F," 314th Infantry, 79th Division in the European Theater. After the war, he returns to Texas A&M to complete his degree. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the air Force, he serves four years as an intelligence officer during the Korean War.