Chambers Family, Military Correspondence

This small collection consists of letters written by three men, probably brothers, in the United States military during World War II. Willis, Wayne, and Joseph Chambers wrote to their parents in Lancaster, Ohio. During the years these letters were written, only Joseph served overseas. He was sent to a coast artillery unit in the Hawaiian Islands. The other two men stayed in the continental United States.

Most of the letters are short without a lot of narrative. From mid-1943 both Wayne and Willis optimistically predict a quick end to the war. On July 21, 1944, Willis refers to the July 20 failed assassination attempt on Adolph Hitler in Germany. The letters include comments on the heat encountered in southern training camps and discuss conditions at military training camps in the U.S. as well as developments overseas during the war.