Some weeks after National Socialist Germany annexed Austria in March 1938, a small group of 15 and 16 year-old classmates of Jewish heritage promised one another that they would do their best to maintain ties. The boys’ original promise resulted in an extraordinary group correspondence that stretched over fifteen years and spanned three continents. This correspondence serves as the point of departure for a collective biography focusing on the classmates who participated in the exchange. The Botstiber Research Grant will support archival research on the army experiences of the Austrian classmates who fled to the United States. Three of the most avid correspondents served in the army and their attitudes and varied experiences highlight the important contributions they made to the U.S. military.