Max Flaugher Korean War letters and papers

Collection – Multiple Containers

Identifier: MS-1278

Staff Only

Collection Overview

Abstract

This collection primarily consists of letters from family and friends of Max Flaugher, who served in the Korean War from 1950-1953. Letters are primarily from his high school sweetheart Margaret (Peg) Haley, his mother, Alta Rose Flaugher (Mrs. C. Flaugher), his sister Margaret Richardson, brother Wilbur (Willie) Flaugher, and friend Ruth Slotterbeck. Includes several folders of correspondence from friends in the Army and Navy; enlistment and training records; ship newspapers from Flaugher’s trips to and from Korea in 1952 and 1953; informational pamphlets; a Stars and Stripes comic book; a personal journal; and a photograph of Max.

Dates

Creation: 1950-1953

Extent

2.6 Cubic Feet (8 letter and 1 legal archive box)

Content Description

The Max Flaugher Korean War letters and papers include personal correspondence that gives a view into family and dating life in the 1950s. The many affectionate and long letters to Max from friends and family members in northwest Ohio reveal life on the home front. Many letters contain clippings of local sports news, comic strips, and special event brochures sent to provide additional details of events in Ohio. Letters from other soldiers and sailors to Max reveal a camaraderie and understanding that is distinctive from their civilian friends and family.

A smaller portion of this collection includes correspondence to his parents and a telegram to his girlfriend informing her of his safe arrival in Asia in 1952. Max also wrote several reflective pages on his trip home on the USNS Marine Phoenix and at Ft. Custer in Michigan. Max had an avid interest in basketball, which is reflected in the news clippings that his family sent him and in the publications in Box 2; the humor and lived experiences of soldiers in Korea are also reflected in these publications. The collection contains little material created by Max himself; the collection primarily reflects the perspectives of family and friends within the United States and not the experiences or reflections of a young American serving his country in war.

Biographical / Historical

Max Flaugher was born on June 18, 1927, in Bloomdale to the Clyde and Alta (Rose) Flaugher. He was a student at Bowling Green State University before being drafted into the Army, serving in the Korean War from 1951 to 1953. He was drafted around July 1951 and sent to Aberdeen Proving Ground Ordinance School in Aberdeen, Maryland. He left Aberdeen and was stationed briefly at Ft. Lawton in Washington in February 1952, departing on the USNS Gen. Patrick later that month. Flaugher left Korea in May 1953 on the USNS Marine Phoenix and was temporarily stationed at Ft. Custer in Michigan before returning to his family in Bloomdale, OH. He married Imogene Flowers on October 6, 1957 and died on February 26, 2019.

Nearly half the correspondence in the collection was written by Max’s friend, Margaret “Peg” (Haley) Malloy, who was born on April 16, 1934 and graduated from Findlay High School in 1954. She married William Malloy in 1954. The couple had three children and owned and operated a restaurant and catering business in Findlay. Peg worked at a number of Findlay-area businesses as well before her retirement. She passed away on February 12, 2024.

Conditions Governing Access

No known access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers using this collection assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright, and are responsible for securing permissions necessary for publication or reproduction.

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

The records are arranged in two series: “Korean War Ephemera” and “Correspondence”. Korean War Ephemera include newspapers, ship newsletters, books, and other materials that Max Flaugher brought back from Korea. The Correspondence series includes a limited amount of correspondence from Max to his family, and correspondence from his friends and family to Max. The correspondence is arranged first by correspondent and then chronologically.