“May 31, 1971: Tears, Laughter, and the Sound of His Voice”
Send us a text In this May 31, 1971 letter, my mom Sarah takes us on an emotional ride: from laughter and sarcasm to loneliness and back again. She starts the letter lightheartedly—listing all the things she and Joy somehow convinced someone to buy during a furniture shopping spree. But then the deeper truth emerges: she’s been struggling. She’s tried calling my dad in Vietnam nearly every night. The lines are always busy. And it’s been wearing on her. She writes, “I feel like I spent more ...
In this May 31, 1971 letter, my mom Sarah takes us on an emotional ride: from laughter and sarcasm to loneliness and back again.
She starts the letter lightheartedly—listing all the things she and Joy somehow convinced someone to buy during a furniture shopping spree. But then the deeper truth emerges: she’s been struggling. She’s tried calling my dad in Vietnam nearly every night. The lines are always busy. And it’s been wearing on her. She writes, “I feel like I spent more time crying than anything else.”
But then—relief. A breakthrough. A voice.
She writes, “Oh baby—God, it was so good hearing your voice.”
It’s the first time she truly exhales in the letter, and you can feel it. That call steadies her, reconnects her to him, and brings her back into the comfort of their love—even from thousands of miles apart.
As with a few recent episodes, this letter was found after I had completed Chapter 1. It had been misfiled, and I found it while preparing the June stack. That will likely happen again—letters surfacing late, arriving when they’re ready. Thank you for being patient with the process, and for helping me honor this love story one letter at a 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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