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This letter from Captain Dick Allgood, written on June 27, 1971, reveals the tender truth beneath his famously gruff exterior. “I am not a cold bastard,” he writes to his wife, “I just may present that on the surface.” And it’s true. Anyone who knew him knew he was a softy at heart — a man who loved fiercely, laughed loudly, and proudly identified as a tit man, even offering free Allgood T-shirts to any woman in the bar who’d change into one on the spot.

But in Vietnam, even the most loving letters carry shadows. In this one, Dick writes about a young airman — the same man mentioned in earlier letters who had contracted the clap and then crabs — who became so overwhelmed with depression that he attempted suicide. It’s a stark reminder: even though Dick rarely describes the war itself, he was still living in the middle of it. It was hot, humid, and full of misery — rashes, bugs, broken spirits. The men may have been trained not to write about it, but the war still bleeds through the margins.

And yet, these very pages survived. My mom wrote them. My dad treasured them — carrying them with him through war and home again. Somehow, decades later, I found them intact in a freezing storage unit in Big Sky, Montana. They never got wet, never got lost. He saved them. And now, I get to read them to you.

💌 Follow along at theallgoodslove.com

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The Allgoods: Vietnam Through the Eyes of Love is a personal podcast project based on real letters exchanged between Capt. Richard Allgood and Capt. Sarah Allgood during the Vietnam War. Photos of the original letters, family snapshots, and behind-the-scenes commentary are available for supporters.

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