More than 200 letters from John E. Fitzgerald to his wife Carol. There are 30 letters from 1942-1946 during World War II, with the bulk written during the Korean War, 1950-1951. There is also correspondence between 1958-1974.

World War II (August 1952-March 1944) correspondence [typed and handwritten letters] includes mention of Dover Army Air Base in Dover, Delaware and an Army Air Base in Jacksonville, Florida; discusses Italy’s 1943 surrender to the Allied Forces; describes daily activities between flights. Immediately postwar, Fitzgerald is stationed at Kirtland Field Air Force while seeking an Air Force R.O.T.C. position in California.

Korean War (May 1950–November 1951) correspondence [typed and handwritten letters] includes mention of dependent travel as the Korean War escalates; discusses court martials; wartime experience in Tokyo; mentions incredible heat and living situations. Fitzgerald also discusses social life among American military personnel in Japan during the early 1950s: parties, day trips to the Island of Oshima, visits to geisha houses, and Japanese cuisine. Militarily, Fitzgerald narrates his wartime role with the U.S. Air Force: he builds and maintains airplane equipment, and participates in official transport and medical evacuation. Fitzgerald describes the September 1950 landing at Ichon by UN and South Korean troops. In October 1950, Fitzgerald first flies over the Korean peninsula in a sightseeing mission. Also in late October, he shares General Douglas MacArthur’s decision to halt travel to the United States. Fitzgerald also discusses personal matters with his wife Carol: the purchase of an investment property, plans for the family to reunite in Japan, their children, the acquiring of Japanese goods [clothing, fabric, accessories, and housewares], and the emotional toll of wartime separation.

1958-1974 correspondence includes Carol’s March–April 1966 overseas trip to Tokyo and Hong Kong, son Steve’s acceptance to St. Michaels, general housekeeping; 1972-1974 postcards and letters with U.S. Army post codes from son Steve to his mother and father, discussion of Steve’s travels in Europe: Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Italy.