“Happy Birthday, My Love” — May 20, 1971
Send us a text In this letter from May 20, 1971, my mom, Sarah, writes to my dad, Dick, on his birthday — from halfway around the world. She’s working long hours as a surgical nurse, and on this day, she gets called in unexpectedly to scrub an emergency open-heart surgery. She’s not even on the schedule, but they need her — because she’s the best. And she shows up, even while physically exhausted and emotionally stretched thin. She writes with love, humor, and quiet strength. There’s hope i...
In this letter from May 20, 1971, my mom, Sarah, writes to my dad, Dick, on his birthday — from halfway around the world. She’s working long hours as a surgical nurse, and on this day, she gets called in unexpectedly to scrub an emergency open-heart surgery. She’s not even on the schedule, but they need her — because she’s the best. And she shows up, even while physically exhausted and emotionally stretched thin.
She writes with love, humor, and quiet strength. There’s hope in her voice, too. She’s been examined and believes she might be pregnant, but in 1971, pregnancy couldn’t be confirmed until you were further along. There were no instant tests. No early results. And certainly no gender reveals. Just waiting. Hoping. Wondering.
And of course — writing.
Back then, letters were their only real connection. There was no texting, no FaceTime, no email. Phone calls from a war zone were rare and unpredictable. Every word they wrote had to stretch across weeks and thousands of miles.
Now, more than 50 years later, I’m reading these letters out loud — one by one — after losing both of my parents in 2020. If either of them were still alive, I wouldn’t be reading these at all. But now, I’m learning who they really were. I’m preserving their story. And I’m sharing it — so their love isn’t lost to time.
The Allgoods: Vietnam Through the Eyes of Love is a personal podcast project based on real letters exchanged between Capt. Richard Allgood and Capt. Sarah Allgood during the Vietnam War. Photos of the original letters, family snapshots, and behind-the-scenes commentary are available for supporters.
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