Letter to Terrie, undated — the D.C. guard interview, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

What the letter is

The concrete other half of a decision the NCO-school letters only name in passing. Charlie kept saying he’d refuse NCO school “if I’m sent there instead of D.C.” — and here is what “D.C.” meant: an interview for a guard assignment in Washington, guarding “things like the unknown soldier,” one day on and two days off. It is the elite ceremonial posting he was chasing as the alternative to the NCO-school path that fed Vietnam. The letter catches him mid-pursuit: interview missed, rescheduled, hopes up.

Transcription

Sunday (mailed Monday) — 618 days left

Dear Terrie,

Just a quick note to let you know what is going on.

[A short family-health passage is held private at the family’s discretion.]

Now the good news. I missed my interview but will get to make it up next Saturday. They need guards in D.C. and after this nonsense here I would go to Washington and become a guard. I would be guarding things like the unknown soldier, etc. I wouldn’t know for certain whether I get the assignment until the 8th week but if I pass the interview I understand the chances would be very good. I’ll keep you posted on these developments.

The job would be 1 day on and 2 days off so it would be a very good deal.

I had a good time this weekend. I got drunk but that was all. I did forget the army for a while and that was good.

[a middle page appears to be missing; the letter continues on a later page:] …there from the 15 April on. I’ll let you know after my interview Saturday for the “guard” job.

Our mail seems to be messed up something awful. I get 2 letters, then no letters for several days, and then 2 again. I haven’t heard from Al or Jay yet, or Abbott for all that matters.

How was your slumber party? I hope you are not so lonely you can’t have fun. Just don’t date or do anything naughty.

I hope everything is okay. What are you doing on your app? Just don’t rush into it like I did. Also, what are you doing about transportation once you’re out on your own?

Love Charles

What the letter records

What “D.C.” was. “They need guards in D.C… I would be guarding things like the unknown soldier.” The NCO-school letter’s “if I’m sent there instead of D.C.” and the mortar-training letter’s reasoning both point at this: a Washington guard posting was the safe, stateside alternative he was actively interviewing for. This letter is the only place in the corpus that says plainly what he was reaching for — and, by implication of everything that follows, did not get.

“618 days left.” The service-obligation day-count in the header places the letter early — roughly a year and eight months of Army time still ahead, the decision-making months before deployment. It is the pre-Vietnam counterpart to the in-country day-counts (“day 180… not even half way yet”) that fill the 1970 field letters.

Forgetting the army for a while. “I got drunk but that was all. I did forget the army for a while and that was good.” The weekend reprieve, said without apology — the same use of alcohol as a brief exit from the Army’s grind that recurs through the training and field letters alike.

A note on the withheld passage: the letter opens with family news that concerns the health of living family members; it is held in the private family archive at the family’s discretion, and the rest of the letter is reproduced above.