← Part of Letters from Vietnam
letter
Letter to Terrie, 24 February 1971 — five days in, and the cost of R&R
Charlie's two-page evening letter to Terrie dated 24 February 1971, reassembled from its scans (dad163 page 1, dad164 page 2; dad165 is a duplicate scan of page 2). He has received her letters dated 16 February and is sorry to hear she's sick, hoping she's recovered by the time this arrives. He's been at Camp Eagle five days now, everything is fine, not yet settled into his quarters. On R&R his one reservation is the cost: the allocations come down on 5-6 March, which is when he must commit for an April Hawaii window, and he expects to be able to get Hawaii. He presses Terrie for a firm answer so they can plan properly to meet, says he thinks it would be very nice if they could, and signs off tired, heading to bed. Signed 'Love, Charles.'
What the letter is
24 February 1971, evening, the “more comprehensive letter” he’d promised on the 21st. Five days into the Camp Eagle clerk job, the texture of the late tour is now entirely logistical: her health, his quarters, and above all the R&R math. The April Hawaii trip is the organizing hope of the spring, and the whole letter turns on its one obstacle, cost, and its one requirement, a firm commitment from Terrie before the 5-6 March allocations force his hand.
Transcription
Feb 24, evening.
Dear Terrie,
I got your letters dated Feb 16 today. Sorry to hear you are sick. I hope it is all in the past by the time you receive this letter. I’ve been here 5 days now and everything is fine. I’m not settled into my quarters yet but I should be in the not too distant future.
As far as R&R the only thing I have against it is the cost. On March 5-6 the allocations come down and that is when I must make my decision for April. I should be able to get Hawaii. I hope
[page 2:] you have started to write here now, I’ll need an answer and we will have to plan things a little better if we are to meet.
Yes, I think it would be very nice if we could meet there. If [it] isn’t that much and we should have some fun.
I’m tired now so I guess I’ll go to bed.
Love Charles
What the letter records
The R&R deadline. This is the same allocation machinery as the 17 February letter, now narrowed to a date: 5-6 March is when he commits for April. The trip can’t be claimed and casually dropped, so he keeps pressing Terrie for the firm answer the Army’s calendar demands.
“If we are to meet.” Hawaii R&R was, for many couples, the one chance to see each other across a 12-month tour. The planning here, addresses, allocation dates, who writes whom, is the practical scaffolding under that hope.
Scans
