Correspondence, including letters, notes and cards, primarily between Bill and Margaret Haslauer, written during periods of separation in their courtship and early years of marriage. The majority of letters are from Bill to Margaret, but Margaret’s correspondence to Bill is also included. The major themes covered in the correspondence include: the 1937 flooding of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and the impact on Southern Illinois; military life; and domestic news. Bill’s letters provide details about a soldier’s life: food, living quarters, drills, allotments, recreation, flight school curriculum, fellow soldiers, the bases and towns where he is stationed, and training missions. Bill frequently comments on movies he has seen, songs or radio programming he enjoyed, or books he is reading. Homesickness for Margaret and Susan, and the stress caused by their physical separation, are also common themes in their letters. From Europe, Bill’s letters are filled with his observations of the English people, blackouts, rationing, the weather, the impact of the war, and the places he visits. He also comments on hallmark events like the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt and V-E Day. After the war, from Sweden, he writes about the bombing destruction he witnessed in Hamburg, Bremen, and Kiel Harbor, Germany. The collection also includes letters from family in Illinois to Bill and Margaret, and from friends they developed through the military. A 50th anniversary celebration letter from Bill to Margaret is included; as well as a newsletter, Sweden: After the Flak (1999 summer/fall), which has the story of Bill’s crew’s crash landing in Sweden (pgs 6-8), and a program from Margaret’s memorial service. The correspondence is arranged in chronological order, with undated correspondence listed last. A bound typescript of the correspondence in the collection is available in Box 3117. Other materials, such as the newsletter and Margaret’s memorial service program, are listed in the container list after the correspondence and in chronological order.