Margarita and William H. King collection

Collection — Container: 12.0006 - Box 1

Identifier: 12.0006

Staff Only

Content Description

This collection relates to the wartime correspondence between Margarita King and her husband William H. King, who served in the Army Air Corps in the Philippines during World War II. The collection contains letters collected and sent between Margarita and William, personal photographs, newspaper clippings, postcards, and employment documents.

Dates

1938-1946
Majority of material found within 1944-1946
Other: Date accessioned: 2012-01-11

Creator

King, William H., April 15, 1916 - November 2, 1999 (Person)
King, Margarita , 1916-1999 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open to all researchers.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to quote, publish, broadcast or otherwise reproduce from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean for Special Collections & Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Florida State University Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Biographical / Historical

Margarita King, maiden name Manganelli, was born September 5, 1916 and raised in Elizabeth and Newark, New Jersey. William H. King was born in April 15, 1916 in Childress, Texas, and raised in Houston. After meeting Margarita at a USO dance in New Jersey, William was stationed at the Drew Field Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. After their marriage in 1944, the two were separated when William was deployed overseas to serve in the Philippines (via California). While in the Philippines, he worked with radar and plane guidance for the United States Army Air Corps. While William was deployed in the Philippines, Margarita worked for the American Can Company. After the war, William returned and worked for his former employer, the National Cash Register Company. Margarita died on October 22, 1999 - William died 11 days later on November 2. The Kings are buried together in the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Houston, Texas.

The collection, which is primarily an assortment of letters, provides useful insight into the daily life, hopes, and emotional state of soldiers serving overseas. In his letters, William gives his thoughts on everything from the greater events of the war to the smallest inconveniences of living on an overseas Airforce base.