Evening Lecture: Sue Hodson - I Promise You I’ll be Home: Korean Letters of a U.S. Marine

Before becoming a professional journalist and columnist for the Los Angeles Times, Al Martinez (1929-2015) served in the Korean War at the age of 21 with the U.S. Marines. From 1951 to 1952, he served first on the battlefront and then as a war correspondent. He dispatched letters almost daily to his young bride Joanne. Recently, McFarland and Co. has published a volume of Martinez’ war letters, sharing the unique perspective of an obviously gifted writer at the beginning of his career. His letters home captured his experiences eloquently and with depth of understanding as they express the dangers, hardships, fear, friendships, and even humor of life at the front.

Sara S. “Sue” Hodson is the retired curator of literary collections for The Huntington Library, where she oversaw all British and American literary manuscripts. Her honors include the Society of California Archivist’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Jack London Foundation’s 2012 Woman of the Year and the 2017 Avery Clayton Spirit Award. Her writing has appeared inThe American Archivist, California History, the Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science, and numerous other publications.