January 16, 1969
January 16, 1969
Thursday 10:30 A.M.
Dear Larry:
Well, here I am again with a few lines and hoping you are ok. As yet, we haven’t been getting any mail from you. What have you been doing? I can’t understand why you can’t write to us more often. Here is hoping again today that the mailman will bring a letter from you.
Dad worked at the club last night, and this morning, he decided that he didn’t want to go to work. He hasn’t been off for some time, so he called in and told them he was sick. He will probably end up sleeping most of the day.
January 6, 1969
Monday, January 6, 1969
9:30 P.M.
Dear Larry:
Thought I would write a few lines and send you some clippings from the paper. I thought it would be better for you to read it in the paper than for me to try and write about it. Be sure to read about the 2 youths. We were very shocked to hear about that.
Well, we finally had our first big snow as you can see in the paper. Tresa and I went out and shoveled snow off the sidewalks this evening and it is really crispy out. I also took the Christmas lights off the front porch.
December 24-26, 1968
Christmas Eve ’68
Hi, how are you? This is going to be a short letter because my paper supply is limited as my time is. What did you do on Christmas? What are you gonna do on New Years? Do you think you’ll get drunk as anything?
Mother has been busy today. She baked a ham and 3 pumpkin pies. Last night, she made some cranberry salad. Aunt Mary, Uncle Deda and Uncle Ray were just over here. Aunt Mary got me a pretty blue nightgown. Uncle Deda got me a pair of underpants and Uncle Ray got me a real neat yellow dress with a scarf to match. It is really cool. Barbara got me a pretty cool pair of earrings and a bracelet to match. Carol Porter bought me a charm for my charm bracelet. Vicki Lanone got me some scented perfume and Kathy bought me 3 pairs of really cool earrings. Uncle Tommy got me a real neat pair of cameo earrings. So far, we have just opened presents that our aunts and uncles got for us, but will open the rest from mother and Dad on Christmas morning.
“This Christmas holiday has been a lonesome one for me.”
Christmas day [December 25, 1968]
Dear Larry:
Received your Christmas card and were glad you got the package. It wasn’t much, but I am glad you received it. Whatever you want and think we can send to you, write and let me know.
This Christmas holiday has been a lonesome one for me. We had 4 days off and Uncle Harold has been sick and is still in bed. That flu that everyone is getting is bad and it hit him hard as he has bad lungs. Tomorrow starts another work day.
December 17, 1968
Tuesday, Dec. 17, 1968
10:30 A.M.
Dear Larry:
I thought I would take time out to write you a few lines.
I went shopping with Joanna yesterday and I am kinda behind on my housework. In a way, I’ll be glad when Christmas is over because it means a lot of running around trying to please my family for Christmas.
I didn’t get anything for you, but like I said in one of the other letters, I’ll buy you what you need when you get home. I doubt if there is anything I can get you to use over there.
Well, how are you doing? How did you spend your birthday? We thought of you on Saturday, and I baked a white cake and fixed half of the turkey that I got for Thanksgiving. We even sang Happy Birthday to you with one candle on the cake, which was Tresa’s idea. The cake and turkey didn’t last long. The next day, the cake was all gone. I let Joanna take some of the turkey and cake home with her.
December 10, 1968 (Joanna)
12/10/68
Dear Larry,
Hi! How’s everything goin’? I hope you’re getting along alright.
By the way, Happy Birthday.
I guess that’s a hell of a place to be celebrating your 21st birthday. Ah well, you can make up for it when you get home.
I was just thinking that in less than a month it will be one year since you’ve been in the service. It’s gone by pretty fast it seems. You’ll be out of Nam pretty soon, too — so just be careful for about six more months and you can come home on leave and go swimming in our pool, ok?
December 12, 1968
Dec. 12, 1968
Thursday 10:30 AM
Dear Larry:
Well, here it is two days before your birthday, so I had thought I had better write a few lines to let you know we are all ok and just hoping that you are the same. By the time you get this letter, you will be 21 years old. I will probably bake a cake and even though you are not here, we will be thinking of you and wonder what you will be doing. Let us know.
It is cloudy and windy here today. The weather man said that it is supposed to rain and get colder and then the rain is supposed to change to snow tomorrow.
I haven’t been writing to you as much as I did, but that is because I have been busy trying to get caught up on some of the work around home. I am making some new curtains for my kitchen as the ones up there now are about shot. I want to finish the new ones, so I can put them up before Christmas.
“I took a bad picture. I will send more later.”
According to the date on the back of this photo, it was taken September 25, 1968. It was apparently sent to the family in one of his letters back to them. (Which we eventually hope to come upon!) We aren’t sure why Larry thinks this was a bad picture of him. Maybe it’s the goofy mustache.
November 2, 1968
Nov. 2, 1968
Sat. 9:45 A.M.
Dear Larry:
Even though we are not getting any mail from you, I thought I’d write. The last letter we got from you was written the 13th of October so it has been over 2 weeks since we got a letter. Dad said that you are probably on your R+R and having fun. Aunt Mary is waiting until I hear from you to send you a box. Maybe you might be moved and have a different address. Uncle Ray was over the other day and he said that he doesn’t understand why you didn’t get their box. He felt pretty bad about it and I can’t blame him. The only thing we can figure out is that it was probably stolen. He said that he put the address on it that I gave him so it couldn’t be the wrong address.
Wrasslin’ Around – Vietnam
This photo (taken 1968-1969) shows Larry and his friends “resting” in during their time in Vietnam.
