The collection is comprised primarily of letters and greetings cards sent and received by Ken Paul, his girlfriend Marian Hentscher, his mother Edna Paul, his brother Bill Paul, and various friends and family members while the Paul brothers served in the Army during World War II. The letters are arranged chronologically and date from 1942 to 1946. The only item dated after 1946 is Ken Paul’s nametag for a reunion of the 302nd Fighter Command Squadron in October 2000.

In addition to the correspondence, there are a few greeting cards dated 1946, stories written by Ken Paul that were inspired by his military experiences dated 1943 to 1945, and three undated radio scripts for stations “PFUI” and “KUKU.” There are also two newsletters from St. Luke’s Evangelical Church (St. Louis) dated December 26, 1944, and July 25, 1945. The newsletters provide updates on members in the military. Pastor Clarence Peters announced engagement of Bill Paul to Ruth Tiemann in the July issue and also mentioned other friends of the Paul family. Finally, there is Ken’s radio training notebook, ca. 1943-1944, filled with notes and diagrams. It also lists the places at which he was stationed and bears a self-portrait sketch on the front fly-leaf.

The letters begin in 1942 with two that Ken Paul wrote before he entered the Army. Most of the letters in the collection are written by Ken to Marian, particularly after he was stationed on Iwo Jima. There are a smaller number of letters written by Ken and Bill to their mother, Edna Paul. Bill Paul also wrote to Marian in effort to get to know her better. From 1943 to March 1944, the letters provide a complete story of what was happening to the Pauls and to their family and friends at home.

The letters follow the two young men from induction in the Army through the end of War World II. Ken and Bill Paul explore their willingness for adventure, their hopes and dreams, and their evolving world view as they wrote to their loved ones and friends about their military experiences. Ken and Bill also wrote to each another, although few of Ken’s letters to Bill are in the collection. However, once they were stationed overseas, it is evident that they shared much more with each other than what they shared with their mother, both men trying to alleviate her worries. In his October 14, 1944, letter, Bill told Ken about duty as a forward observer, as close to enemy lines as possible (B5/f.11).

The 1943 letters are not only from Ken and Bill as they traveled from camps and bases in the U.S. to overseas posts, but also some letters written to them by their mother, by Marian, and by a few relatives and friends. Once Ken was ordered to clean out the hundreds of letters in his locker at Bradley Field (March 22, 1944, B4/f.1) and, once he discarded all non-essential items before shipping out in June 1944, very few of the letters that he received through the end of the war survived. However, Ken shared letters that he received with either his mother or Marian, often enclosing letters from Bill. Bill also had to discard all non-essential possessions, including all but a few letters from home, before the D-Day invasion (June 2, 1944, B4/f.11).

Censorship played a part in the Pauls’ letters home. Each letter was subject to the censors’ redactions once they were stationed outside the continental U.S. in 1944. However, their few letters to each another seem quite frank, leaving the question of whether military to military letters were censored as heavily as letters bound for home. Servicemen were made aware of what they could and could not disclose in letters. As soon as restrictions were lifted, such as a military operation being completed and reported upon in the newspapers, the men could tell their families about their experiences. For example, Bill told his mother about his training and where he was stationed in England after he landed in France and enclosed a leaflet that was handed to the men prior to D-Day (June 14 and 18, 1944, B4/f.12-13). After the Japanese surrender, censorship was officially lifted and Ken told Marian on September 5, 1945, where he was and enclosed a map of Iwo Jima showing its radio installations at which he worked (B7/f.16). He continued to share details of his experiences on Iwo Jima after the war’s end.

By 1944, when Ken and Bill were subject to censorship, the practice was widely known. Ken humorously observed in his June 13, 1944, letter to Marian that he “shall have to get used to this third party business.” In his November 22, 1943, Ken told Marian that he had developed a code to bypass the censors. However, Dan Hentscher already used a code that allowed him to tell his family that he was stationed in New Guinea in late 1943 (January 8, 1944, B3/f.7). Marian apparently shared the code with Ken as she decoded a few of his 1944 letters [see June 14, 1944; September 17, 1944; January 18, 1945; January 27, 1945; February 3, 1945; and March 16, 1945].

Aspects of World War II home front life are revealed in the letters. Edna Paul and Hulda Hentscher both wrote about Victory gardens, rationing, and saving coupons for meat and sugar in order to have large family dinners as their families became better acquainted during Ken’s service. Ken and Bill both discussed paperwork for allotments with their mother; they had a portion of their pay sent to her. They also used part of their pay to buy war bonds. Edna began working a second job as a waitress at the Famous Barr tea room in January 1943. She mentioned going downtown for Navy Day, seeing ships and jeeps that rode into the water (October 27, 1943, B2/f.11).

The Pauls regularly received packages from home, including food and woolen socks sent to Bill during the winter of 1944. Once Bill and Ken left the U.S., they had to request items in their letters. The Postmaster General declared in January 1943 (Order No. 19687) that no parcels could be sent to A.P.O.s unless expressly requested by the recipient. When sending a package, the sender had to present the letter in which the serviceman requested a package and have it stamped with a parcel post mark, preventing the same letter from being used more than once. The first of several letters in the collection bearing a parcel post stamp is dated ca. June 14, 1944 (B4/f.12).

Ken regularly discussed his close friends from home in his letters to Marian, including: Roy C. Paul (2nd Lt.), Eddie Boeckelmann (married Elsie ca. 1943), Ralph “Poochie” J. Huther (Marine), Oliver Grosse (civilian, musician), and Lee (Pvt. Leland K. Eckhart). They also discussed Dan and Bob Hentscher, Marian’s brothers. The letters often mentioned updates and news on these friends and relatives and about many more friends and acquaintances from St. Louis as the war continued.

Many relatives and friends wrote to Ken. He told Marian several times during training school that he had many letters from home to answer. As mentioned above, Ken had to discard his letters as non-essential. However, he saved a few letters written in 1943 by his Aunt Gert and even a letter from Gert’s husband, Uncle Bill. In late August 1943, Edna and Gert visited Ken in Wisconsin while was in training school. Possibly, Ken brought letters home with him on furlough in November 1943.

Ken’s and Marian’s romance unfolds in the letters. In his September 14, 1943 letter, Ken declared his love and proposed to Marian. Several times in their three-year separation, Ken explained his anti-war marriage views, believing quick marriages to absentee husbands unfair to the brides. They penned nicknames for one another. Ken addressed letters to Marian as “Kelly” and “Pug” and signed his letters “Skeezix” and “Slug.”

Ken’s letters included lots of information and often humorous observations about his routine, where he was, fellow students/soldiers, and officers. He did not write details about school or classes, except when he enclosed a sketch of a radio classroom in his October 5, 1943, letter (B2/f.7). Ken was a fan of movies and music, particularly jazz and Duke Ellington, and also a lover of good books. Marian sent him books and magazines; he obtained others from libraries when he was stationed stateside, and he had magazine subscriptions that were delivered to his various destinations. His letters were full of movie and book reviews, his insights on his friends and comrades, and his views on American culture.

His own experiences and those of his brother and friends buoyed Ken’s interest in writing a book. Before the war, Ken wrote poetry and sketched. He enclosed some sketches and poetry in his letters to Marian and to Bill, who along with other friends, encouraged him to write professionally. Between the war’s end in August 1945 and his discharge, Ken sent outlines and plans for the book to Marian, Bill, and his mother.

The last letter from Bill Paul in a combat zone is dated January 3, 1945. There is no correspondence until he telegrammed his mother that he was in the U.S. (July 9, 1945, B7/f.9). Ken mentioned receiving letters from Bill when he wrote to Marian in the spring and summer of 1945, but those letters are not in the collection. When Bill was home on furlough, Ken discussed the adjustments soldiers endured in being home with Marian. He particularly mentioned that moodiness was normal after combat and that maybe when this happened Bill was remembering the concentration camps (August 4, 1945, B7/f.12).

In August, Ken wrote Marian with his reactions after the atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima. After the war was over, Ken wrote his feelings on his chances of getting home for Christmas. The U.S. Army used a point system based on service and number of dependents. Since Bill served in a combat zone longer than Ken, he was discharged first. From the letters, Ken expected to leave Iwo Jima on December 3, 1945, but it is unclear exactly when he was discharged and returned to St. Louis permanently.

Letterheads and Postcards (partial list; military, illustrated, and/or humorous)

Selected Letter Inventory (partial inventory of the letters)