Episodes
December 14, 1971: Closing the Detachment, Waiting for Labor
Send us a text On December 14, 1971, both Sarah and Dick are standing on the edge of something — though neither quite knows what the next day will bring. In Vietnam, Dick spends the day out-processing, turning in equipment, and packing up his hooch as his detachment closes down. He’s exhausted, pra…
December 13, 1971: Sprained Ankles and War-Zone Moves
Send us a text On December 13th, 1971, Sarah is deep into late pregnancy. She sprains her ankle getting out of the car, finishes her Christmas shopping, and settles in for the evening with help from friends as she prepares for the home stretch before giving birth. Meanwhile, Dick is on alert duty a…
December 12, 1971: Roses, a Birthday Call, and a New Address
Send us a text On Sarah’s 32nd birthday, she wakes to roses, a long-awaited phone call from Vietnam, and the familiar circle of friends who keep her steady as she waits for her baby to arrive. Across the world, Dick writes from a lonely room in Vietnam as his unit prepares to move from Biên Hòa to …
December 11, 1971: Roses on the Eve of Her Birthday
Send us a text On December 11th, 1971 — the night before Sarah’s 32nd birthday — she receives a bouquet of perfect rosebuds sent from Vietnam while Dick is in the middle of relocating to a new air base. In this warm, witty, deeply human letter, Sarah fights off a cold, tends to her late-pregnancy r…
December 10, 1971: “If Ever Two Were One — Then Surely We”
Send us a text On December 10, 1971, Sarah and Dick write from opposite sides of the world as everything begins to feel imminent. Sarah comes home from the doctor with news that labor may come sooner than expected. Dick responds with one of the longest and most declarative letters of the war — root…
December 9, 1971: Loving You More Than Yesterday
Send us a text On December 9, 1971, Sarah writes from San Antonio on a cold, rainy Thursday — eight months pregnant, alone, watching quiz shows, dealing with a broken television, and passing the time with friends and cookies. It’s an ordinary day made extraordinary by love. This letter moves betwee…
December 8, 1971: Finding Her Rhythm Again
Send us a text On December 8, 1971, the day after Sarah opens up about sleepless nights and crowded worries, the tone shifts. She’s still tired, still lonely — but steadier. Humor returns. Desire is loud again. Christmas preparations continue. Dick writes from Vietnam with his own quiet routine, th…
December 7, 1971: Too Much on Her Mind
Send us a text On December 7, 1971, Sarah writes from San Antonio and, for the first time, puts words to a feeling she can’t quite name — sleeplessness, worry, and a mind that won’t slow down as Christmas, pregnancy, and separation pile up around her. Dick writes from Vietnam the same day, steady a…
December 6, 1971: Only 100 Days to Go
Send us a text On December 6th, 1971, Dick writes from Vietnam with quiet hope — sharing that he’ll be home no later than March 23, 1972, finally giving their family a clear countdown. Sarah, meanwhile, writes a ten-page letter from San Antonio overflowing with Christmas shopping, BX mishaps, pregn…
December 5, 1971: Sunday Without You
Send us a text It’s Sunday, December 5th, 1971 — one week after Sarah and Dick said goodbye in San Antonio. He’s back in Vietnam, stuck on alert, and she’s eight months pregnant, moving through a cold, quiet December day with friends, errands, and longing. Today’s letters show how deeply they miss …
December 4, 1971: Dreaming of the Life We’re Building Together
Send us a text On December 4, 1971, Sarah and Dick write from two very different emotional spaces — she, deeply pregnant and exhausted, needing reassurance; he, energized by dreaming ahead to their life after Vietnam. In these two letters, we see a young couple planning their future: money in the b…
December 3, 1971: Alert Duty, Longing, and Letters Home
Send us a text On December 3, 1971, just days after their Thanksgiving reunion, Sarah and Dick wake up in two different worlds again — she in San Antonio, pregnant and hurting; he in Vietnam, back on alert and lonelier than he lets on. Their three letters from this single day show the softest parts…
December 2, 1971: Grieving the Goodbye, Counting Down to Home
Send us a text On December 2, 1971 — the first day of the final month of pregnancy — Dick writes from Vietnam and Sarah writes from San Antonio. The countdown home has finally begun, but the pain of saying goodbye is still sharp. These letters show what love looks like when hope and grief live toge…
November 29 & December 1, 1971: The Apartment Is Empty Without You
Send us a text After two weeks together for Thanksgiving, Dick returns to Vietnam on November 28, 1971. Sarah is eight months pregnant and back in their San Antonio apartment — learning once again how to sleep alone, eat alone, and fill a day without the man she loves beside her. These two letters,…
November 18, 1971: The Flight Back to Sarah
Send us a text It’s November 18, 1971. Dick is on the airplane flying home from Vietnam — the same familiar flight path he once flew in a C-141, now taking him back to his wife. Sarah is in San Antonio, almost eight months pregnant, tidying the apartment and stocking food so they won’t need to leav…
November 14, 1971: The Reunion Is Days Away
Send us a text On November 14, 1971, Dick writes what will be his final letter before flying home for R&R. In just four days, he’ll be back in San Antonio, holding Sarah for the first time in six months. This is the last letter until November 28, after Thanksgiving and their long-awaited time t…
November 13, 1971: Four Letters, Future Dreams, and the Final Countdo…
Send us a text On November 13, 1971, Sarah finally gets a flood of letters after days of silence — four all at once — and the relief pours through every word she writes. She opens up about her fears around her pregnant body, her longing for Dick to see her grow, and her dreams of having “two kids w…
November 12, 1971: Achy, Lonely, and One Week to Go
Send us a text On November 12, 1971, Sarah and Dick are only a week away from being reunited, but the days feel impossibly long. Sarah is achy from stepping on a bee the day before, tired, pregnant, and trying to keep her spirits up as she waits for one precious letter after another. She hasn’t rec…
November 11, 1971: Veterans Day, Then and Now
Send us a text On November 11, 1971, Sarah and Dick were just one week away from their long-awaited reunion. The love, humor, and anticipation in their letters capture everything that made them who they were — steadfast, playful, and endlessly connected, even from half a world apart. That year, Vet…
November 9, 1971: Thanksgiving on the Horizon
Send us a text On November 9, 1971, Sarah and Dick are both counting down the days—just over a week until his flight home from Vietnam for a much-needed two-week leave. She’s tired and seepy, planning baked potatoes and thinking ahead to the holidays. He’s flying missions, dreaming of her, and thri…
November 10, 1971: Stitches, Secrets, and Seven Days
Send us a text On November 10, 1971, Sarah and Dick write from opposite ends of exhaustion. He’s shaken by the discovery that one of his own firemen has been using heroin — a revelation that went against everything he believed in. She’s sore from overdoing it, sewing and painting and pushing hersel…
November 8, 1971: Horny, Hungry, and Homeward Bound
Send us a text On November 8, 1971, Sarah writes about caring for the baby she’s carrying—tracking every kick, every meal, every pound. Dick writes from Vietnam, teasing her about sex and talking about champagne and flight paths. Their letters, written ten days before his return, capture both sides…
November 7, 1971: An All-Day Conversation of Love
Send us a text With only eleven days left until their reunion, Sarah spends the entire day writing to Dick — adding to her letter like a diary, hour by hour, to feel closer to him. Meanwhile, Dick writes from Vietnam with the same countdown on his mind, sharing his travel details and everyday momen…
November 6, 1971: Gossip, Barbecue, and the LSU–Alabama Game
Send us a text As the countdown to Dick’s return continues, Sarah hosts a packed apartment for the LSU–Alabama game while Dick grills steaks with Pie and dreams of coming home. Their worlds are thousands of miles apart, yet connected by love, laughter, and football — a tradition that will carry on …