National Affairs: The Epistolary Art

In the late summer of 1946, when she wrote to North Dakota's Senator Milton R. Young, Mrs. Matt Fischer was in what she described as "a desperate situation." She was seven months pregnant with her second child and her husband, an Army staff sergeant, was stationed in Vienna. If she had to have her child at home in Bismarck, N. Dak., it would "take something very vital from [her] marriage." She wanted to join her husband in Vienna.

Deeply touched, the Senator sent letters and telegrams in all directions—to Matt Fischer's C.O. in Austria, to the Department of State, to the War...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!