Roe and Florence Wilkins World War II Correspondence

The collection is comprised primarily of letters between Roe and Florence Wilkins from 1937 to 1946, with the majority of the letters covering Roe's military service in Europe during World War II. Prior to the war, from 1938 to 1940, the two were separated while Roe lived and worked part of each year in Washington, D.C. They wrote frequently during this period and their letters primarily discuss their relationship, friends and families, and work. There is a gap in the correspondence between Summer 1940 and Spring 1942, during which time they were married and living in Gainesville while Roe finished school. They resumed their correspondence in 1942 when Roe entered the Army and was stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He subsequently moved to Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, and then to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. His letters during this time describe his training and the friends he has made at those locations. Florence's letters describe her life at home, her work and volunteer activities, and news about family and friends.

The collection does not include letters to Florence from Roe between mid-1943 and early 1944, but her numerous letters to him during that period do indicate that he was writing to her. It was during these months that Roe was stationed in England for training, prior to the D-Day invasion. The first of his letters to Florence from Europe begin in July 1944 after he already had landed in France. Beginning in September 1944, Roe writes to Florence from Holland where he took part in Operation Market-Garden. His letters from late 1944 and early 1945 discuss the Battle of the Bulge, the capture of Hitler's retreat at Berchtesgaden, and V-E Day, among other significant events during the last months of the war. Although Roe discusses his combat activities throughout his service in Europe, he does not do so in great detail. There are numerous references to Roe's friends serving with him during the war, particularly S.B. "Ben" Skinner, Jr., and Sam Williams. Throughout the correspondence, there are frequent references to Roe's camera and the photographs that he was taking. Unfortunately, these photographs are not part of this collection.

Although most of the letters are between Roe and Florence, there are letters to and from various family and friends. Family correspondents from the Wilkins family include Roe's father Joseph, his mother Nora, his brother Raymond, and his sisters Juanita, Ophelia and Okemah (Kema). Family correspondents from the Pancoast family include her parents and her sister Juanita.