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Letter to Terrie, 14 February 1971 — a Valentine, and the clerk orders clear
Charlie's short Valentine's letter to Terrie dated 14 February 1971. He has called about the clerk job and learned his orders were simply delayed by 'inefficient clerks up there'; he expects to report in three or four days. At this rate he'll have 120 days left in the army, putting his discharge at 14 June and his homecoming soon after. He'll write again when he hears more, and signs off 'Happy Valentines Day. Love Charles.'
What the letter is
14 February 1971. A short, happy Valentine. The administrative limbo of the early-February letters — the clerk job promised but the orders not yet cut — resolves here into good news: the holdup was just “inefficient clerks up there,” and he expects to report to the new posting in three or four days. The countdown is down to 120, the discharge date fixed at 14 June, and the whole note has the lightness of a man who can finally see the shape of the way home. He ends it as what it is: a valentine.
Transcription
Feb 14
Dear Terrie,
Well I called about my clerk job and I guess my orders were just being delayed by inefficient clerks up there. I should be there in 3/4 days I hope so. At this rate I’ll have 120 days left in the army and it will be June 14 and I’ll be home.
I’ll write when I hear more. Happy Valentines Day.
Love Charles
What the letter records
The bureaucratic all-clear. After the early-February uncertainty about whether the clerk posting would actually come through, the answer is mundane and reassuring: it was only paperwork. The safe job was real; it had just been waiting on a clerk’s desk.
“120 days… June 14 and I’ll be home.” The countdown, now attached to a firm date. From here the letters stop wondering whether and start counting toward when — the 14 June discharge that the Hawaii R&R and the wedding would be built around.
A valentine, kept short. Charlie rarely marked the calendar’s occasions; here he does, briefly and without fuss. The economy of it is the point — good news, a date, a holiday greeting, love.
Scans
