The Margaret Langland Johnson papers date from 1925 to 1972 and measure 5 linear inches.

The Biographical series (1925-1972) contains a diary written by Margaret Langland about her 19th birthday and her time as a nursing student at the Iowa Lutheran Hospital School of Nursing in Des Moines, Iowa. Her career as a nurse is documented through papers issued by the U.S. Government, her World War II discharge papers and United States Government Office Memoranda from 1956 to 1965 which are annual reviews of Margaret Johnson's performance and responsibilities. A pamphlet from the 1940s, "That Men Must Live", outlines "that good soldier- the army nurse".

The majority of the papers consist of correspondence between Margaret and her brother Lowell Langland and the rest of her family during World War II. Some of the earlier letters are from her 23 months abroad in Europe to her family. A story she wrote, "Tendring" tells of her experience living with an elderly couple in England during the months preceding D-Day. A photograph album details her nursing activities and the people she met during her travels to Tennessee, Britain, Germany, Belgium and France during World War II.