← Part of Letters from Vietnam
letter
Letter to Terrie, 18 February 1971 — still in Da Nang, waiting on orders, down to 115
Charlie's brief one-page letter to Terrie dated 18 February 1971 from Da Nang, the day after the longer typing-job-and-stereo letter (dad158-160). The orders he expected didn't arrive; he'll call the next day if they still haven't come. He frames the clerk job as the hinge for everything else — getting it is what lets him ETS, go to Hawaii on R&R, and clear up his finance problems. He counts himself down to 115 days if everything goes to plan, notes there's 'nothing hard about being here' so maybe he's better off, and passes along a rumor the unit could be extended in-country another 30 days. The weather has been pleasant and sunny and his sunburn didn't peel, so he's doing alright. Signed 'Love, Charles.'
What the letter is
18 February 1971, Da Nang. A short follow-up to the previous day’s long letter about the clerk-typist orders, the Hawaii R&R, and the stereo. The orders still haven’t come, and almost everything Charlie wants from the rest of the tour, ETS, the Hawaii trip, getting his money straightened out, is waiting on that one piece of paper. The tone is steady and almost light: the days are going faster, there is nothing hard about where he is, and the worst news on offer is a rumor about a 30-day extension.
Transcription
Feb 18
Dear Terrie,
I’m still in Da Nang. I was expecting my orders today but they didn’t come. I’ll call tomorrow if they aren’t here then. I’ve got to get that job if I’m to ETS and go to Hawaii and even clear up my finance problems.
At least the days go faster. I’m now down to 115 if everything goes according to plan. There is nothing hard about being here so maybe I’m better off. I hear we may even be extended down here another 30 days. That would really be something. The weather has been pleasant and sunny the last few days and my sunburn didn’t peel so I’m doing alright. Hope everything is fine with you.
Love Charles
What the letter records
Everything waits on the job. In a single sentence Charlie chains the clerk-typist orders to ETS, to Hawaii, to his finances, the administrative job has become the key that unlocks the whole end of the tour. The previous day’s letter laid out the plan in detail; this one is just the daily check on whether the paperwork has moved.
“Nothing hard about being here.” Written from the rear at Da Nang, the line measures how far the clerk job had pulled him out of the field. The danger that fills the earlier 1970 letters has receded to a rumor about an extension and a note about sunburn.
Scans
