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letter
Letter to Terrie, 25 March 1971 — 'my old company is near Khe Sanh'
Charlie's letter to Terrie dated 25 March 1971, written across two pages. Bad postal service and long hours have slowed his writing. On a map he saw that his old company is near Khe Sanh and he is openly relieved not to be there. With 'drops' he reckons he could be home in 20 days, though still in the army; 81 days left to go. He reassures Terrie that a friend of hers who had been in the Saigon area was nowhere near the fighting — 'a different area completely, like Canada vs. Florida.' The Hawaii plan firms up: they will stay together, his mother's friend will not be involved, and if Terrie travels as Mrs. Eesley on the airline ticket they will save about $100. The closing page: 'I need nothing now except for time to pass.'
What the letter is
25 March 1971. A two-page letter. Charlie apologizes for letting his writing slide — bad mail, long hours, nothing happening — and then, in a single quiet sentence, registers the war from a safe distance: on a map he saw his old company is back near Khe Sanh, and he is glad not to be there. The rest is logistics of the life he is trying to get back to: the “drops” that might get him home in twenty days, the count at 81, and the Hawaii plan finally hardening into a concrete instruction — come as Mrs. Eesley on the airline ticket, save a hundred dollars, the orders are in hand. The second page is one line, and it is the whole mood of a man at the tail of a tour: I need nothing now except for time to pass.
Transcription
March 25
Dear Terrie,
With the bad postal service, long hours and nothing really happening I guess I’ve really let my letter writing down. The war goes on and on a map I saw that my old company is near Khe Sanh. I am really glad I’m not there now. With drops and everything considered though I guess I could be coming home in 20 days although I would still be in the army. I guess it is best this way with just 81 days left to go.
As far as your friend who was in the Saigon area — it is a different area completely, like Canada vs. Florida.
Yes we will stay together in Hawaii. The friend of my mother will not be involved. If you come to Hawaii as Mrs. Eesley on the airline ticket we will probably save $100 or so. That would be best since you have the necessary orders now.
[page 2]
I need nothing now except for time to pass.
Love Charles
What the letter records
“With drops… I could be coming home in 20 days although I would still be in the army.” As the United States drew down its forces in 1971, soldiers were handed drops — curtailments that shortened the Vietnam tour. Charlie distinguishes carefully between leaving Vietnam and leaving the Army: a drop would get him out of country sooner, but he would still owe stateside service. He judges it “best this way” — better to ride out the 81 days than to scramble the R&R and homecoming plans for a few weeks.
“Come as Mrs. Eesley on the airline ticket.” The clearest statement of the arrangement the spring letters keep circling. Traveling as the serviceman’s wife, on his R&R orders, was the cheaper and simpler path — here worth about $100 — which is why the marriage and the trip had become a single decision. “You have the necessary orders now” means the R&R paperwork had come through; the bureaucratic obstacle of the 5 March letter had cleared.
“I need nothing now except for time to pass.” The line that gives the letter its weight. After a year of asking for letters, news, and reassurance, what he wants has narrowed to a single thing the Army still controlled: the calendar.
Scans
