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This collection is made up of incoming letters to Hazel T. Ramsey from her boyfriend (later husband) William Beale Ramsey, during World War I; and her sons William B. Ramsey, Pierce T. "Ted" Ramsey, and John T. "Jack" Ramsey during and after World War II. Father and sons provided Hazel (in Philadelphia) with information about their everyday lives in military and air forces training, news of friends and fellow African American servicemen, experiences of racism and segregation, sport and sporting events, courtship and relationships, promotions, and more. The men's service took them from stateside training and teaching, including at Tuskegee Airfield, to overseas service in the Philippines and Japan.

This collection is made up of incoming letters to Hazel T. Ramsey from her boyfriend, later husband, William Beale Ramsey, during World War I; and her sons William B. Ramsey, Pierce Theodore "Ted" Ramsey, and John T. "Jack" Ramsey during and after World War II. Father and sons provided Hazel (in Philadelphia) with information about their everyday lives in military and air forces training, news of friends and fellow African American servicemen, their own experiences of racism and segregation, sporting events, courtship and relationships, promotions, and much more. The men's service took them from stateside training and teaching, including at Tuskegee Airfield, to overseas service in the Philippines and Japan. See the Hazel T. Ramsey Family Papers Notes for information on the contents of many letters in the collection.

The elder William Beale Ramsey wrote 27 letters from Camps Meade, Maryland; Dodge, Iowa; Pike, Arkansas; and Greene, North Carolina, between 1917 and 1918. Some of the themes of Ramsey's letters include drill, gymnastics, trench, and rifle training; meningitis and quarantine at Camp Meade, the treatment of African American soldiers and officers, and war news—particularly when Black solders were involved (such as the receipt of French War Crosses by two men in May 1918).

William Beale Ramsey the younger sent 14 letters home largely from Camp Ashby, California, and from the Philippine Islands between 1942 and 1946. Some of the themes of Ramsey's correspondence included his participation in basketball and track, races and other sporting competitions stateside and in the Philippines, visits with friends and family in California, girlfriends and near-marriages, a National Football League game in Wyoming, and the destruction of Manila.

John Townshend "Jack Ramsey" sent around 20 letters to his family, largely from Keesler Field, Mississippi; MacDill Field, Florida; the Philippines; and islands of Japan, between 1943 and 1946. Among the chief themes in his letters are training and marksmanship, promotion, race relations stateside and in Japan, interactions between Japanese work crews and black solders versus the work crews and white soldiers, speaking basic Kapampangan, and his eagerness to leave the service and return home.

Pierce Theodore "Ted" Ramsey sent 16 letters home to his parents from Keesler Field, Mississippi, and Tuskegee, Alabama, between 1944 and 1945. Ramsey wrote about the Air Corps Technical School at Keesler Field, and his time at Tuskegee Airfield, training and teaching, and aspects of flight work (bombardiers, pilots, navigators, etc.).

Hazel T. Ramsey received around 25 additional letters and ephemeral items from friends, family, and organizations, between 1918 and 1945. See the Hazel T. Ramsey Family Papers Notes for information on the contents of many letters in the collection.

This collection is made up of 51 items related to Private Victor J. Harles, who served in France with the United States Army's 350th Infantry Regiment during World War I. Harles sent 47 letters and postcards to his parents and sister in Clayton, Missouri, while in training at Fort Dodge, Iowa, and while serving in France and Germany between August 1918 and May 1919. He described his training exercises, aspects of military life, and the towns he visited in France during and after the war. Also included are 2 pre-enlistment letters and 2 pieces of ephemera.

This collection is made up of 51 items related to Private Victor J. Harles, who served in France with the United States Army's 350th Infantry Regiment during World War I. Harles sent 47 letters and postcards to his parents and sister in Clayton, Missouri, while in training at Fort Dodge, Iowa, and while serving in France and Germany between August 1918 and May 1919. He described his training exercises, aspects of military life, and towns he visited in France during and after the war. Also included are 2 pre-enlistment letters and 2 pieces of ephemera.

Harles wrote 13 letters from Camp Dodge, Iowa, between May and August 1918, and 2 while awaiting deployment from Camp Upton, New York, in early August. He discussed many aspects of military life, such as the food; leisure activities; his influenza inoculation (with a small drawing of the mark it left on his arm, June 16, 1918, and June 19, 1918); and training exercises, including rifle practice and anti-gas maneuvers (July 3, 1918). On July 7, 1918, he mentioned having seen three African American men hanged for an assault on a young woman. Once he received his assignment to the signal corps, Harles took classes in telegraphic systems and described the work of the corps. He also encouraged his family to look after his fiancée, "Lil," while he served abroad, and composed 1 letter while en route to Europe.

Victor Harles sent 17 letters, 13 postcards, and 1 Christmas card from France and Germany to his family in Missouri, writing primarily about his surroundings and war news. He reported seeing foreign allied soldiers and German prisoners of war, drew maps for his regiment's signal corps, and commented on the small French villages in which the 350th Regiment stayed during most of its active service. Harles had some knowledge of the French language, attained through his immigrant grandmother, and could interact with the locals. He described local customs and gave his impressions of the town's buildings. Although he arrived in Europe shortly before the armistice, he reported that his unit had participated in battle. His letters also include a brief comparison between occupied Germany and wartime France (May 5, 1919) and signal his intent to break off his engagement (May 17, 1919).

After the war, Harles traveled around France and to Coblenz, Germany, as a theater painter with the 88th Division "Show Troupe." He spent some additional time in Paris before returning to the United States onboard the Pocahontas in late May 1919. Three printed and partially printed postcards provided his family with news of his arrival in France, a new mailing address, and news of his return to the United States on June 1, 1919.

The collection's visual materials include printed postcards, an illustrated Christmas card, and 3 photographs of Victor Harles. Two photographs are enclosed in his letter of February 25, 1919, and the third is attached to his passport, also present in the collection. The postcards depict scenes from Paris, other French cities, and Coblenz, Germany. Additional material includes 2 early letters Victor wrote about life as an artist in Norway, Maine (June 13 and 30, 1916), and a metal identification tag for "M. J. Schreibert." One postcard postmarked 1908 depicts a Papago Native American woman filling a pot.

This collection is made up of 42 letters that Robin Whitfield wrote to his girlfriend and future wife, Tacey Barnett of Clarksville and Nashville, Tennessee, from 1917-1921. He wrote of his experiences at Camp Dodge, Iowa, and Brest, France, during World War I, and commented on his life in Clarksville after the war.

This collection is made up of 42 letters that Robin Whitfield wrote to his girlfriend and future wife, Tacey Barnett of Clarksville and Nashville, Tennessee, from 1917-1921. He wrote of his experiences at Camp Dodge, Iowa, and Brest, France, during World War I, and commented on his life in Clarksville after the war.

Whitfield wrote 2 letters from Clarksville in 1917; 17 letters and postcards from Camp Dodge, Iowa, from June 1918-August 1918; 1 letter from Camp Upton, New York, in September 1918; 1 letter from Camp President Lincoln in Brest, France, in June 1919; 2 postcards immediately after his return to the United States in late 1919; and 17 letters from Clarksville from April 1920-September 1921. Two additional letters from Clarksville are undated. At Camp Dodge, Whitfield joined the 804th Pioneer Infantry Regiment, an African American unit. He commented occasionally on the attractiveness of local women (August 14, 1918) and about his fondness for the shooting range (September 20, 1918), but most often he discussed his social activities and his relationship with Barnett. After his return to Clarksville, he continued to write about their relationship and upcoming visits. The collection's postcards include a photographic postcard depicting trench warfare ([July 8, 1918]), a photographic postcard showing Camp Dodge ([July 22, 1918]), 2 postcards with short poems about friendships and relationships ([July 30, 1918] and [October 28, 1919]), and one postcard bearing a logo from the YMCA Troop Train Service ([October 9, 1919]).