This week, I was given the opportunity to read and observe old letters exchanged between Muhlenberg student athletes and their families during World War II. These letters not only provided information about their athletic careers back in the day, but they also revealed how students balanced personal relationships, school, and being drafted into the military. They wrote letters about how they played against Rutgers and how they won or lost the past game. As someone who now currently attends Muhlenberg, it was very interesting to see how students managed similar activities as I do, while also competing athletically, despite the World War going on simultaneously.

What was particularly intriguing to me, was how the letters were written quite formally, while still casually informing their families of what is going on in their lives. The way they communicated with their families showed how much they missed them, showing a more realistic perspective of the history of that time.

How WWII Students Balanced Sports, School and War

One question I had regarding these readings was: why did these students choose to continue to play sports and focus on school during such a hectic time? It must have taken a lot of courage and hard work to keep up with many responsibilities at once, during such a time.

Another fact that I learned was that during WWII, news was tightly controlled by the government, which focused on positive stories and censored the harsh reality of war.

 A question I would pose about this is: how did government censorship and media control affect how Americans viewed the war?

 Haha Moment: Emma Belle Petcher’s mother used a ruler to track battles on a map, showing a heartfelt and somewhat comical effort to stay informed about the war.