Dr. Henry O. McMahon, a Detroit area surgeon, met Miss Juliet Richards of Racine, Wisconsin at the turn of the twentieth century. While they lived in separate states, they wrote to each other letters starting in 1907, and began a courtship soon there after. Throughout their long courtship, the letters reflected many varied activities and politics, as well as their growing feelings for one another. In 1912, they became engaged and were married in 1913. In 1914, Juliet gave birth to their first child, Mary Louise.
With the onset of World War I, medical reserve personnel were one of the first units to be called up into active duty for the United States Army. Henry's unit became active in 1917, and he was sent to Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, Indiana, before being sent for the duration of the war to the base hospital at Fort Custer, Battle Creek, Michigan. His letters home reflect the change in his life, dealing with life at the base, learning new surgical techniques for modern gunshot wounds, and missing his wife and family at home in Detroit. Although Juliet could visit occasionally, in October 1918 there was an pneumonia quarantine on the base which prevented Juliet's visits and Henry's trips home.
With the end of the war, Captain Henry O. McMahon, M.D., rejoined his wife and children in Detroit.
From the guide to the McMahon Family Papers, 1907-1920, (Bentley Historical Library University of Michigan)
