One of the Hardest Days – May 21, 1971
Send us a text Dick Allgood begins this May 21, 1971 letter to his wife Sarah by confessing it was “one of the hardest” days he’s had — but he never says exactly why. Instead, the letter unfolds with devotion, longing, and his deep hope that he’ll soon be a father. He calls Sarah his “wittle chickie-dee,” tells her how beautiful their children will be, and shares how he’s gotten used to being sad — a quiet reflection from a man writing in the heart of a war zone. This episode is being recor...
Dick Allgood begins this May 21, 1971 letter to his wife Sarah by confessing it was “one of the hardest” days he’s had — but he never says exactly why. Instead, the letter unfolds with devotion, longing, and his deep hope that he’ll soon be a father. He calls Sarah his “wittle chickie-dee,” tells her how beautiful their children will be, and shares how he’s gotten used to being sad — a quiet reflection from a man writing in the heart of a war zone.
This episode is being recorded on May 20 — what would have been Dick’s birthday — and we’re reminded that while these letters are filled with love, they were written from a place of danger. As a member of a Pedro HH-43 rescue team in Vietnam, Dick was on standby for emergency missions that only happened when something had gone terribly wrong — an aircraft down, a pilot in danger, or a catastrophic fire.
The timeline in these letters can sometimes feel jumbled — like the pregnancy news that’s mentioned in different ways — because they were often written, postmarked, and received out of order. But the emotional through-line remains clear: Sarah and Dick were holding onto each other through paper, dreaming of a family while separated by war.
This is Episode 32 of The Allgoods: Vietnam Through the Eyes of Love, a podcast sharing real wartime letters between two Air Force sweethearts.
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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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