“I Just Love the Thought of Being a Pop” — May 16, 1971
Send us a text In this letter from May 16, 1971, Dick Allgood—an HH-43 Pedro rescue pilot stationed in Vietnam—writes to his wife Sarah with pure joy after learning he’s going to be a father. He’s on alert, ready to fly into danger at a moment’s notice, but in the quiet moments he’s trying—repeatedly—to place a phone call across the ocean to reach her. This wasn’t just a slow day in the war. It was a day of effort: coordinating calls, writing letters, and bracing for missions in sweltering ...
In this letter from May 16, 1971, Dick Allgood—an HH-43 Pedro rescue pilot stationed in Vietnam—writes to his wife Sarah with pure joy after learning he’s going to be a father. He’s on alert, ready to fly into danger at a moment’s notice, but in the quiet moments he’s trying—repeatedly—to place a phone call across the ocean to reach her.
This wasn’t just a slow day in the war. It was a day of effort: coordinating calls, writing letters, and bracing for missions in sweltering heat. Though he had the relief of air conditioning—a rare comfort compared to troops in the jungle—it was because pilots like him had to stay ready to launch without warning to save lives.
At the center of this letter is a line that now means even more: “I just love the thought of being a pop.”
He didn’t say “dad.” And after I was born, I never called him that. I called him Pops. Reading this as his daughter, it hits me harder now. I didn’t know he said that before I was born.
I imagine my mother, alone in San Antonio, probably worried sick—pregnant and counting days—and my father, half a world away, doing everything he could to comfort her. These letters aren’t just a record of love; they’re a lifeline across time.
And we’re just at the beginning. These letters span from April 27, 1971 to April 5, 1972. What you’re hearing now is only a tiny percentage of what’s to come. I’m on this long journey with you—and it’s getting harder, and deeper, with every page.
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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