This collection begins with correspondence between Charles S. Hopkins and his wife, who is away from home, in Chicago, after having an operation. These letters date from March-April, 1903.

The next folder, correspondence from 1908, is mostly from Anita Hopkins, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hopkins, to her family. These segue into correspondence between Anita and Willis Mercer, who eventually marry. They apparently had a daughter, Ann, who married Dick Fedderson.

Dick took his ROTC training at the University of Iowa and was inducted into federal service on September 16, 1940. He was in the 162nd Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Division, the first U. S. Division to go overseas in the war, on March 3, 1942. According to a brief sketch of his time in the Army, the 41st Division was the first division trained for jungle warfare and fought more campaigns than any other Pacific division. He also says that the 162nd Infantry had seventy-six straight days of direct contact with the enemy, the longest in the history of the U. S Army at the time. He was sent to Eta Jima Island where, as the senior officer of the 41st Division Landing Party, he accepted the surrender of the Vice Admiral and his Imperial Japanese Naval Academy. He was in active service until March, 1947.

His letters home comprise the heart of this collection.

This collection contains an album of 41st infantry combat pictures, distributed by the US Army, as well as some biographical materials about the 41st Infantry.

Dick was also a charter member of the Scottish Highlanders, started as a sister band to the ROTC drum and bugle corps. There is a folder of materials about the Scottish Highlanders included in this collection.