LETTERS FROM VIETNAM

Thank you for the Chanukah card. There are only six soldiers who are Jewish. We were all called in. We didn't know why. The only Chaplain we have is Christian. He came in with a basket that contained envelopes and told us to each take one. They were your Chanukah cards. You sent eight so since there are only six of us the two extra cards were set out for decoration. Some of us were disappointed that all of the cards were the same and the only thing you wrote was your name and address. __________ got mad and tore up the card because that is all we got. The Christian soldiers sang Christmas carols and had a nice service and a Christmas dinner. One guy just held you card and kept looking at it but didn't say anything so I don't know what he was thinking. The Chaplain tried to be real nice and told us we should appreciate that you went to the time and trouble to remember us at Chanukah. I guess he is right, which is why I am writing to say thank you for sending the cards. ___________ was really upset because he said he was offered ham at the Christmas dinner. He picked it up and threw it in the trash. They try to give us three squares a day. That is better than what some of us had at home. It's just nobody except you remembered Chanukah and that was hard to stomach. None of the Jewish guys got anything special to eat, not even a cookie.


Thank you for the cookies. I'm the guy who tore up your Chanukah card. After the cookies arrived I got your name and address from ____________. I'm sorry I tore up your card and I hope you'll write to me like you are doing with all of the other guys. They sit around and read your letters. The letters are all different and funny. We all liked the cookies. When they brought your box out one guy kept yelling COOKIES and the Old Man told him to knock it off, because maybe the enemy could hear. Nobody got killed so I guess they didn't. Everybody came running. Guys I don't even know. The Old Man said you sent 3 dozen cookies and everybody wanted one. One of the officers broke the cookies up so that everybody got a part. We all ate them and they were maybe the best cookie I have ever eaten. One guy didn't eat his piece. He crumbled it up and put it in his pocket and then kept rubbing the crumbs. He said it was like touching home.


All of your Christmas cards arrived. The Chaplain put them out and told everyone what they were any anybody who wanted one was welcome to come forward and take one. By the time I got to the front of the line they were all gone. I got your name and address from my buddy _________ who got one of the cards. I hope you don't mind my writing. It gets lonely wanting news from family and friends back home. I hope you had a nice Christmas.


Thank you for the Christmas card. Considering where we are, we had a nice Christmas. The Chaplain gave a nice service and we sang carols. We also had our best meal so far - ham with raisin sauce.I think it was raisin sauce. My Mom always made it that way. When I ate it I kept thinking of her. I hope you will keep writing. We don't get much mail. Nobody here had ever been to Las Vegas. What is it like?


It is great that you are going to have a baby. You wrote everybody that and we all cheered. The Commander said that is what we needed. He said that is why we are here. Even if the folks back home are against us. We shouldn't think about that. We need to think about the babies that aren't born yet. That is why we are here. My sister had a baby at a young age and she did okay. Just remember to take vitamins. You need extra special vitamins for the baby and make sure you see a doctor.


We are all excited about the baby even though it's months away. We are guessing the weight and when it will be born. A couple of the guys hope it's a boy, but a girl is okay. Just whatever you decide to have is fine. Some of the guys say they hope they are still alive then. We're moving around.


Hope you are feeling okay. It shouldn't be too much longer. We'd all like to have a wallet size baby picture. I remember for high school graduation we all ordered wallet size pictures. They were 20 copies for $1.00. There are ads in the back of magazines. If you could order a couple of sets then we could all have one. I need to tell you one of the guys who wants a picture is scared to tell you that he is a Negro. __________ is a nice guy and works as hard as the rest of us. He's worried that if you know he's a Negro then you won't want him having a picture of your baby. He said he'll understand if you feel that way. He was scared to write that to you.


It made me real happy that it's okay if I have a picture of your baby. _____________ told me he wrote you that I'm Negro. I've cleaned out a special place in my wallet for the picture. I'm going to put in the note you sent saying you would be honored to have me carry a picture of your baby. I've never had anybody say that to me. If anybody goes at me for having the picture I can show them your note. I've got a couple of good buddies here. Nobody calls me Hey, Nigger Boy like they did back home. They call me ___________. At first I didn't answer because at home it's Nigger Boy. I've learned to answer when my name is called. Take good care of both of you. Don't lift anything heavy.


The fighting is getting heavy. It can be anywhere. We are on the move. Please keep writing. I am writing when I can. We all are. A couple of the guys with wives get letters from them, but most of us don't get mail. _________ never gets mail from his wife. His name came up at mail call but it was from his neighbor telling him that his wife was cheating. Your letters mean a lot, more that you can guess.


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