Archives West Finding Aid

The collection consists of letters written between Virginia Elwood-Akers and women war correspondents of the Vietnam War, used as research for her master's thesis, and later transmuted into book form. The bulk of the letters are either from Elwood-Akers to various editors and military officials in search of contact details for female correspondents whose names she had come across in published material; or are from Elwood-Akers to the correspondents themselves. Typically the letters contain an introduction to herself and her work, a kind word or two about the correspondent based upon her previous research, and some questions regarding the correspondent's experience in Vietnam. Correspondents represented in this collection include: Esther Clark, Gloria Emerson, Frances FitzGerald, Georgia Anne Geyer, Helen Gibson, Jurate Kazickas, Elizabeth Pond, Marlene Sanders, Elaine Shepard, Liz Trotta, Marina Warner, and Kate Webb. Also included is correspondence from Winant Sidle, public relations at Martin Marietta Aerospace, and William Kennedy at the Strategic Studies Institute.