← Part of Letters from Vietnam
letter
Letter to Terrie, 21 February 1971 — finally here, Camp Eagle, the clerk job comes through
Charlie's brief one-page morning letter to Terrie dated 21 February 1971. The orders he was waiting on in the 18 February letter have come through: he's finally at Camp Eagle, the 101st Airborne Division's base near Phu Bai, assigned to the Office of the Chief of Staff in what he calls a relatively safe area. He writes that it is morning and he must go to work, promises a more comprehensive letter that evening, and notes the job won't be soft but at least he's safe. He gives his new APO address (HHC, 101st Abn Div, Office of Chief of Staff, APO SF 96383). Signed 'Love, Charles.'
What the letter is
21 February 1971, written in the morning before work. The administrative limbo of the previous letters resolves in the first line: the orders have been cut and he has arrived at Camp Eagle, the 101st Airborne Division’s headquarters base near Phu Bai, south of Hue. He’s now in the Office of the Chief of Staff, a rear clerk posting, which is the “relatively safe area” he names. It’s a quick note, written against the clock, with a promise of the longer Feb 24 letter to come and his new mailing address.
Transcription
Feb 21
Dear Terrie,
Well I’m finally here. They have cut orders on me and I’m at Camp Eagle which is very close to Phu Bai and I’m in a relatively safe area. I’ll try to write a more comprehensive letter later this evening as it is morning now and I must go to work. This isn’t going to be [a] very soft job but at least I’m safe. I’ll write tonight.
My address is [name] [service number redacted] HHC, 101st Abn Div Office of Chief of Staff APO SF 96383
Love Charles
What the letter records
“Finally here.” The clerk-typist transfer Charlie had been chasing across the February letters is complete; Camp Eagle and the Office of the Chief of Staff are the destination. The relief is in the plain repetition, “relatively safe area,” “at least I’m safe.”
The new address. The APO line (HHC, 101st Abn Div, Office of Chief of Staff, APO SF 96383) marks the move into the rear job in the records themselves, not just in the narrative.
Scans
