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Laura’s War by Laura A. Hoffman Laura Majewski and Wayne Hoffman met at the University of Illinois in September, 1942. Within a few weeks, they knew they wanted to be together forever. Before they could, however, Wayne had to fill his patriotic commitment. Laura graduated and sought a career. Wayne finished his studies and prepared for his military obligations. For the next 3 years, Laura and Wayne reaffirmed their love through letters. Laura saved every letter Wayne sent her, first from OCS in the states, then from the European front. The letters are a testament to the remarkable love the two shared. They form the backbone of Laura's War, Laura Hoffman's memoir of the early years of a sixty-year love affair that still glows bright.. Written from the center of crucial battles, including Normandy and the Bulge, the letters offer intimate insight into the human experiences of men at the front. Along with the letters are excerpts from Wayne’s field notebook, where he recorded the real events that he could only gloss over in his letters. The letters and the notebook are primary historical source material, the likes of which are both precious and rare. While Wayne and thousands of other men fought overseas, Laura and her sisters filled the vacuum left by the absence of their husbands and brothers. Eventually the war would end. Men would return and resume their lives as breadwinners and workers, and women would return to the social roles they held before the war. But things would never be the same. It was during World War II, not the rebellious ‘60s, that the “woman’s movement” really took root. Laura’s War chronicles these turbulent years with passion and grace.
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