Letters to Mike 3

November 3, 1967 Letter to Mike

Sgt. Mike,

Don’t blame me, blame the mail service. I did answer your last letter (whenever that way) almost immediately. I think I fucked up though. Normal mail to stateside leaves Viet Nam postage free, all we do is write “free” up where the stamp normally is. The first letter I sent (I presume you got that one, didn’t you?) I put an 8-cent air mail stamp up there because of the fact you were in Germany, not in the states. The second letter I absent-mindedly wrote “free” instead of the stamp and didn’t realize it until it was well on its way to the bottom of the mail box.

Well, maybe neither of them got there because I found out that when sending a letter to another serviceman in RVN (Republic of Viet Nam) or any other foreign duty station we weren’t supposed to put nuthin’ up there at all. So tell me if you don’t get this ‘cause I’m gonna leave the whole damned envelope blank.

No, I haven’t been wounded. I haven’t even seen the VC in about a month (not complaining though). It’s been fairly slow around here lately. It may sound strange, but I wish we’d get a few of those bastards again soon.

I mean, I sure hope your rumors are like they were in basic – totally fiction. Believe nothing of what you hear and only half of what you see.

It’s been my opinion all along that soon, somehow, you would be given the wonderful opportunity to come over here, but I hope like hell I’m wrong – I wouldn’t wish that for my worst enemy (actually, I guess my worst enemies are already here. They live here – if you can call this living).

No way in hell I can be home by April 27^th, in one healthy piece anyway. I’d love to but the war won’t be over till June 2, 1967.

My orders for SP4 are in, but the allocation haven’t come down yet. I expect anytime from tomorrow to next month or later. There’s a good chance I might be a buck sergeant when I leave here. There’s an equally good chance I won’t be, too.

I hate to chop it off, but I really don’t know what I said in the letter I don’t know if you received, so instead of repeating myself I’ll just say “sit down tonight and write back and tell me what you know about me and Viet Nam and maybe we can get our shit together and begin some kind of orderly correspondence”. (Besides it’ll seem like we’re getting more letters this way).

The Army sucks and Viet Nam is worse,

Bob