Citation: V-mail--Easy to write - fast - great to get - often / Bogard. United States, 1944. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3g02750/
This piece of propaganda of course has to do with V-mail, serving as a sort of advertisement for the usage of the system which served as a way for service members abroad to be able to correspond with their friends and families back home in a rather quick and efficient manner.
Citation: Chen, C. Peter. “Belgium in World War II.” World War II Database. https://ww2db.com/country/belgium
In Joe's letter, he mentions that his brother in law was wounded in Belgium, though he does not say where or in what conflict he had been injured in. There were a number of conflicts that would have been going on in Belgium at the time of him being wounded, and this website goes over said conflicts at the time and discusses some of Belgium's history in relation to the war as well, and it would be somewhat interesting to consider which of these conflicts Joe's brother in law may have been a part of.
Citation: By C.P. TRUSSELL Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES. "PUSH WMC JOB BILL IN REPLY TO STIMSON: SENATE SPONSORS OF 'VOLUNTARY' PLAN ARE IRKED BY HIS CHARGE OF DELAY ON 'DRAFT' MEASURE PUSH WMC JOB BILL IN REPLY TO STIMSON JOHNSON NOT "IMPRESSED"." New York Times (1923-), Feb 20, 1945. https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/push-wmc-job-bill-reply-stimson/docview/107147985/se-2.
This is the front page of the New York Times from the date that Joe's letter was written to Margaret, being February 20, 1945. It helps to give some level of context about what was going on in the world at the time, with just about all of the headlines referring to news about the war on both fronts.
The following object description information includes basic elements from the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI). An additional notes field is included to list dates from the actual letter, envelope postmark locations, and any other identifying details.
While it does not appear to be explicitly stated or marked on the envelope or letter itself, either by Joe or the postmaster or anyone else with authority over mail, it is certainly possibly and perhaps not unlikely that this letter had been sent through V-mail.
As stated in the Historical Context section, Joe does mention that his brother in law had been injured in Belgium but again, he does not mention where or in what conflict or battle he had been injured in. He also does not mention the date of his brother in law being injured, but given that this letter is from February 20, 1945, it is possible to speculate on when and where he had been wounded. It would be fair to assume that he had been injured not terribly long before this letter was written, as Joe most likely would not mention something that happened many months before--unless he himself had only recently found out about it. However, assuming that he was wounded sometime in late 1944 or possibly very early 1945, the brother in law could have been injured in a number of events including: any number of bombings on Belgium and surrounding countries by the Germans from 1940 to 1945 that American forces took place in, the V-Weapons Campaign, the liberation of Belgium and a number of battles such as the Battle of Hürtgen Forest or the Battle of the Bulge.
Citation: Guise, Kim. “Mail Call: V-mail.” The National WWII Museum. December 7, 2019. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/mail-call-v-mail
This is an article from Kim Guise for the National WWII Museum, giving information about V-mail and its history, and also includes several related images.
Citation: McKENZIE, CAROLYN. "Victory Mail Speeds Letters to Soldiers." The Atlanta Constitution (1881-1945), Jun 20, 1942. https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/victory-mail-speeds-letters-soldiers/docview/504071302/se-2.
These two screenshots are taken from an article from the Atlanta Constitution, providing readers with information about the newly introduced V-mail.