Frankfurt, Germany, October 1948: Mrs. Oliver Johnson, left, a war bride married to an American sergeant, reads a magazine while son William snoozes on the sofa at the Rhein-Main airport. Between 50 and 75 war brides — some with their families, others unaccompanied — were leaving from Rhein-Main for the U.S. each week in advance of a Dec. 27, 1948, deadline, after which immigration would become much more difficult.

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