This folder contains personal letters from Barron to his wife, reporting on his daily activities at Camp Lee in July and Fort Knox in August. He frequently complains of his homesickness. He also writes about being lonely, as most of his platoon has shipped out and is being replaced, but he does not receive any news about his own assignment until August. Barron mentions hearing news of Italian and German forces fighting each other in Milan. He is transferred to Fort Knox in August and is issued an M1 Carbine. He is attached to the Armored Force and is inspected by General Gillem. One letter (August 27th) contains a newspaper clipping from the Courier-Journal from Louisville with a picture of Gillem and a brief description of Allied success in Sicily.
This folder contains personal letters from Barron to his wife. They primarily contain reports of Barron's daily activities, descriptions of his progress, and requests for more letters to fight off loneliness and depression. Barron begins technical school, and is recommended for Officer Candidate School and the Procurement Department. He turns down an opportunity to enter Cadet School, preferring to remain in the Supply department if Officer Candidate School does not work out. He mentions learning about Graves Registration and includes a brief description of the government procedure for it in his June 9th letter. He also turns down an invitation to the Army Specialist Training Program, as it would keep him in the army longer than he wishes to stay. In numerous letters, he instructs his wife on how to pay the income tax for the store that he owns. He does not pass the Post Board examination for Officer School.
In this folder Barron writes about his time in Britain and later France once the invasion begins. He mentions living in his foxhole but does not provide specifics about where he is or what his combat experience has been, as he is subject to heavy censorship.
In his June 5th letter, Barron describes his psychological preparation for D-Day. He often mentions his boredom and theorizes about his standing within the Points system. He is frustrated about the quality of news about the war and believes there is too much "doctoring" done to the reports. He warns against treating returning soldiers like "mental cases." He reveals that he went ashore in Normandy with the First Engineer Special Brigade, but was transferred into the Advance Section Communication Zone after the First Engineers were dissolved. In his June 16th letter he describes being a witness to one of the aerial battles during the Battle of the Bulge. He receives multiple awards, including a Seahorse patch for participating in an amphibious landing, the French Croix de Guerre, a Bronze Arrowhead for participating in a beach landing, as well as his 5th battle star, the Central German star. The Advanced Section Communication Zone is dissolved and he is moved into the 7th Army. He tells his wife to ignore the "propaganda" about the Germans starving, and assures her that the fields are full of people and crops.
In this folder Barron continues to write about his homesickness, boredom, and depression. In the first letter he reacts to news of gas shortages caused by rationing in Florida and Georgia. He spends multiple days in Belfast and Derry.
Barron is anxious about moving into Germany and living "among the enemy." He passes his time by working, writing, and attending USO shows. He is annoyed at receiving letters as many as three months late and repeatedly asks his wife to use air mail and not V-mail. He sees Lily Pons in concert. He once again expresses his disgust that black Americans are being "accepted with open arms" by white Europeans.
In this folder Barron is still struggling with boredom and homesickness. He is urgent to see the invasion of Europe begin so that he can return home, even suggesting that he would volunteer to be in the first wave to land just to see the war end. Near the end of May he is moved from Belfast to a location in Britain.
Barron goes to Nice for multiple days on a pass and describes the city, people, and international presence that he sees. He reacts to news of Hitler's death and Germany's surrender. He is opposed to the continuation of the non-fraternization policy now that the war is over. He believes only the Nazi leaders should be punished. Censorship is lifted and Barron describes his combat experiences in his letter of May 23rd. He departed from Southampton for Normandy via a Liberty Ship on D+2, but his landing was delayed a day because the area was not secure. He went ashore on D+3 and made his way to Sainte-Mere-Eglise. He describes seeing wounded soldiers in the hospital there, which he says was his first instance of "feeling sick." As he moved through France he was relatively safe during the day but was threatened at night by strafing German aircraft. In one bombing 13 men were lost, while another saw 113 casualties, both military and civilian. At Soissons he describes a German plane, nicknamed "Bed Check Charlie", which strafed every night. He describes the "incident" which he referred to in January that made him hate the Germans - after hiding from an artillery barrage in Liege, he helped pull survivors from a destroyed building and found the body of a deceased three-month-old child.
In this folder Barron continues to write about his daily work duties and his gradual progress through Europe. He continues to move through Belgium and offers little insight on the war, as most of his letters concern events in Georgia. He is unhappy that Roosevelt was reelected, and he fears the war will drag on because the Nazi party is unlikely to formally surrender. He includes more insight on his attitude toward black soldiers, stating that prisoners of war are both better workers and easier to manage than them.
Barron receives definitive news that he will be home by Christmas. This turns out to be true, and he is in Camp Baltimore in Rheims by the 15th for departure. He mentions that there are black market activities around the camp and includes his observations about it. In the final letter, Barron is in Marseille and expects to be aboard a Liberty Ship within 36 hours.