While Emerson was in the army, Kathryn wrote to him. They had secretly eloped while he was stationed in Ohio. Emerson went to France on September 9, 1918 and returned on June 11, 1919. He served in Company "C" of the 309th Engineers from October 13, 1917 until his discharge.
This is letter # 4, dated September 26, 1918. In it, Kathryn is happy to hear the ship has landed safely in France. She relates being offered a new position at the factory where she has been working. The pay will be $18.75 a week for a supervisory position, apparently less than what she was making as a machine operator, but easier work.
Here is Letter # 18 in which Kathryn mentions receiving an allotment for being the wife of a soldier and using the money to pay on a lot they owned. She also talks about how she worked at the polls to collect signatures for a petition to give women the vote. She jokes about how it shouldn't surprise Emerson that she is in favor of women's rights, as she always gets her way, saying, "you know that ha, I always believe in having mine, don’t I?"