The Allgoods: Vietnam Through the Eyes of Love

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In these letters from September 4 and 5, 1971, Sarah counts down the final days before flying to meet Dick on R&R in Hawaii. From shopping for a playful anniversary gift to packing her bags and feeling the weight of a holiday weekend alone, her words capture the excitement, longing, and nervous anticipation of their long-awaited reunion

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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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https://buymeacoffee.com/theallgoodslove

Visit the official website: https://www.theallgoodslove.com

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On September 3, 1971, Sarah is back in San Antonio and counting the days until her reunion with Dick in Hawaii. She’s packing, shopping, and trying to shake off stubborn fever blisters that threaten to interfere with their long-awaited R&R. Dick has stopped writing full letters, only sending short notes since he thinks his words won’t reach her before she leaves for Hawaii on the 9th. This leaves us with a gap — no letters during their reunion — and only their words afterward to piece together what happened

Support the show

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.

Support the show:

https://buymeacoffee.com/theallgoodslove

Visit the official website: https://www.theallgoodslove.com

Send us Fan Mail

In today’s episode, Dick writes a short but tender note, unsure if Sarah will even receive it before she leaves for Hawaii, while Sarah fills her lonely day with friends, errands, and small comforts. Their letters show two hearts just one week away from reunion, holding on in different ways.

Support the show

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.

Support the show:

https://buymeacoffee.com/theallgoodslove

Visit the official website: https://www.theallgoodslove.com

Send us Fan Mail

On September 1, 1971, Dick writes from Vietnam with longing and playful teasing, while Sarah writes from San Antonio in pain after a brutal treatment for fever blisters — just one week before leaving for Hawaii to reunite with him on R&R. Both of them are simply counting the days until they can be together again, and Sarah captures it in a dream-like vision of Dick walking through the door in his flight suit, just like when they lived in Las Vegas.

Support the show

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.

Support the show:

https://buymeacoffee.com/theallgoodslove

Visit the official website: https://www.theallgoodslove.com

Send us Fan Mail

August 1971 brought milestones, longing, and the countdown to reunion. My mom spent the month in Miami, surrounded by friends like Judy, Terri, and Terri’s boyfriend, Bill Cobbs. She felt the first movements of her pregnancy. My dad kept flying HH-43 Pedro rescue helicopters with Detachment Six of the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron. They marked their first wedding anniversary apart, but with the promise of R&R in Hawaii to finally celebrate their honeymoon. My mom also went to see Ray Charles live at the Coconut Grove Playhouse and wrote about Miami Dolphins exhibition games with $8 tickets. These letters were written by my parents, who both passed away in 2020. I’m their daughter, reading their words more than fifty years later.

Support the show

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.

Support the show:

https://buymeacoffee.com/theallgoodslove

Visit the official website: https://www.theallgoodslove.com

Send us Fan Mail

On August 31, 1971, Sarah and Dick close out the month with two very different but connected letters. From Vietnam, Dick writes about Pie Hill’s leave troubles, reflecting that “love means a hell of a lot more to me than money to others,” while counting down the days until R&R in Hawaii. Back in San Antonio, Sarah shares everyday details — cleaning with friends, lounging at the pool, paying bills — and her certainty that she’s carrying a boy. Together, their letters reveal humor, longing, and the final countdown to their long-awaited reunion

Support the show

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.

Support the show:

https://buymeacoffee.com/theallgoodslove

Visit the official website: https://www.theallgoodslove.com

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Dick writes Sarah from Vietnam about his loneliness, his daily routine, and a steak dinner with Verl Diamond. But what stands out is the truth about the “quarter pot.” Since April 27, the very first day of these letters, Sarah and Dick had a private game: each time they acted on their longing for each other while apart, they would drop a quarter into a pot. What might sound like a figure of speech was actually a literal piggy bank, and by the end of August, the pot had reached $58 — a fortune in 1971. More than just money, it was their playful way of keeping score in love, weaving humor and intimacy into the distance between them.

Support the show

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.

Support the show:

https://buymeacoffee.com/theallgoodslove

Visit the official website: https://www.theallgoodslove.com

Send us Fan Mail

On August 29, 1971, Dick writes of his doubts about the Air Force while Sarah dreams of waves of love stronger than hate. These letters reveal a side of Vietnam that’s rarely told — not the battles on the ground, but the long days of waiting, sitting alert, and holding fast to love across the miles

Support the show

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.

Support the show:

https://buymeacoffee.com/theallgoodslove

Visit the official website: https://www.theallgoodslove.com

Send us Fan Mail

On August 28, 1971, Sarah battles a nasty stomach bug alone in San Antonio while longing for Dick’s care, and Dick hosts a “party” at Bien Hoa that feels more like routine than celebration. In these letters, they both write about their parents — Sarah’s mother calling with excitement over the baby, and Dick sharing that her parents had written to his. Even across distance and war, their love story was held by a wider circle of family who were quietly connected, reminding us how rare and precious that kind of bond can be.

Support the show

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.

Support the show:

https://buymeacoffee.com/theallgoodslove

Visit the official website: https://www.theallgoodslove.com

Send us Fan Mail

On August 27, 1971, Sarah and Dick wrote to each other from across the world — she in San Antonio, he in Vietnam. Their letters capture the closeness of their bond, even as they counted the days until their reunion in Hawaii. Dick dreams of love and intimacy, while Sarah shares her doctor’s visit, a promotion party, and the everyday details of preparing for the baby. Together, their words reveal the rhythm of their separation — filled with longing, humor, and the promise of being together again.

Support the show

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.

Support the show:

https://buymeacoffee.com/theallgoodslove

Visit the official website: https://www.theallgoodslove.com