The Allgoods: Vietnam Through the Eyes of Love

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In this letter from July 16, 1971, Captain Dick Allgood writes from Vietnam with his usual mix of steady affection and quiet urgency. He reassures Sarah that he’s still writing every single day — even if the mail isn’t reaching her — and responds to her news that the tape machine chewed up his last recording. Not yet knowing she got it working again, he promises to make her a new one and send it soon.

He tells her how much he loves the idea of her trying to cook for him — even if she’s not exactly a natural — and begins daydreaming about their upcoming R&R. Seven days where she won’t leave his side, “except to pee.” He misses her fiercely — her voice, her letters, her body, her presence — and says so with honesty and longing.

He closes by picturing her sleepy warm, already curled up with their baby-to-be, and reminds her just how much he loves them both.

If this story means something to you, please consider sharing it or supporting the project. Your encouragement helps keep this going — one letter, one day, one love at a time

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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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In this tender letter from July 16, 1971, Sarah is feeling raw, restless, and deeply in need of connection. After a day of sunshine and swimming with friends, she comes home to six letters from Vietnam — and a wave of emotion she can’t quite outrun. “Today was one of those ache and cry days,” she writes. “Some days I actually hurt from loneliness and desire to be with you.”

She tries to be strong. But this isn’t an Air Force officer kind of day — it’s a wittle girl weekend, full of longing, tape-recorded messages from Dick, and fears that the ongoing Bell telephone strike might cut off their only chance to talk.

From funny comments about Joe the mailman to the deep, physical ache of missing her husband, this letter is a window into what distance, pregnancy, and love looked like in the middle of a war.

If this story resonates with you, please consider sharing the podcast or supporting the project. Your encouragement helps preserve these letters — and reminds me I’m not walking through this alone

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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This is the second letter Dick Allgood wrote to Sarah on July 15, 1971 — and in it, he tells her “I love you” six times. It’s heartfelt, direct, and full of plans for the future. He’s thinking ahead to their upcoming move to Miami, coordinating where to send letters, and doing everything he can to stay close, even from across the world.

He writes about work being a necessary evil, promises they’ll be OK, and closes the letter with deep reassurance: they are one — always have been, and always will be.

There’s even a flash of humor and longing when he says, “Just you wait until R&R. You can bet your bippie I am.” A perfect line from a man who couldn’t wait to get back to the woman he loved

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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This letter from July 15, 1971 was written by my dad, Captain Dick Allgood, from Vietnam to my mom, Sarah, back home in San Antonio. It’s soft, steady, and full of love — the kind of love that makes plans, sends letters ahead to new addresses, and counts quarters in “the pot” for future joy. He tells her he’s tired, not feeling great, but what pulls him through — always — is writing to her.

It’s the first of two letters he wrote that day. He talks about their upcoming R&R, the baby on the way, and the simple hope of resting, reading old letters, and dreaming of her.

As I read this one, it’s the morning of the Fourth Annual Dick Allgood Community Bingo Tournamenthere in Big Sky — an event held in honor of my dad, where all proceeds go back to support the local community. It’s meant to be a joyful day. And it is. But somehow, this day always hits me harder than I expect. Last night, I listened to recordings I made during his cancer treatments — things I haven’t heard since he died — and they reminded me just how deeply he wanted to live. And how deeply I still miss both my parents.

These letters help me stay close to them. So I’m here, still reading, still remembering, and doing my best to keep going — one day, one letter at a time

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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In this letter from July 15, 1971, my mom is doing what she did best — keeping it all together. She writes to my dad about a busy day filled with errands, phone calls, time with friends, and dinner at the Officer’s Club. There’s some tension in the background between people they knew, but she doesn’t dwell on it.

The real heart of this letter is in the little things: finally getting his Special Delivery letter, wishing the mail had moved faster, and counting down the 54 days until they’re back in each other’s arms.

This one is simple and steady. Just one more day marked off in the middle of a long, hard year apart

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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On July 14, 1971, Sarah Allgood writes to her husband Dick from San Antonio, sharing a full day in vivid, personal detail — from a pregnancy scare and cravings to her upcoming trip to Miami, a phone call from her old hospital, and even a disturbing late-night incident upstairs involving two men and a fall from a balcony.

Phone calls between Vietnam and home were rare — expensive, hard to connect, and limited to just five minutes. But Sarah, ever thoughtful, tells Dick they could ask the operator to time it and give the cost when it’s over — and she’d just pay Judy.

As their daughter, I’m still struck by the way they stayed connected — like they were having nightly conversations, even when they couldn’t hear each other’s voice

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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In this short but powerful letter, my dad writes from Vietnam about what truly matters in life — and what doesn’t.

“My work and your thoughts on it will make our lives and our happiness,” he writes. “Money is not the key. Love and happiness is the only key of our love.”

That line says everything about who he was.

He reminds my mom that even though they’re far apart — even though the war has kept them from building a home together — their love is the life. Not a paycheck. Not a place. Just them, and the peace they make between each other.

This letter is filled with reassurance, tenderness, and a kind of steadiness that only comes from someone who knows what matters. It’s the kind of love that makes you feel safe, seen, and held — even from halfway around the world.

He also gently reminds her not to become like Jean Sabato — a reference to an affair that unraveled a marriage between two of their friends. And while the story behind that is messy, the reason he brings it up is simple: he trusted my mom. He believed in her. And he was reminding her, in his own way, that what they had was rare — and worth protecting.

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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This letter was written 54 years ago , and it’s one of the longest ones yet — eight full pages of life, longing, and love.

My mom was in San Antonio, a few weeks away from visiting her friend Judy in Miami. But instead of picking up the phone, she wrote her a letter — because long-distance calls were expensive back then, and this was how people stayed close.

She tells my dad that she hates cooking — especially breakfast — and that he spoiled her by always doing it himself. And that’s the truth. My dad loved cooking breakfast more than anything. It’s part of what inspired him to open Allgood’s later in life, their little bar and grill. Breakfast was always his favorite meal to cook.

She talks about laying out at the pool, writing a bunch of letters to friends and family (many of whom I don’t even know), watching soap operas, and drinking rum and Cokes with Pam. And she shares things that made me laugh — like how turned on she was by his flight suits. She literally tells him to save one just to wear for her.

She also mentions watching the same soaps she did while on leave in Las Vegas — which is where my dad was stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, doing helicopter training on the HH-43. That’s where they got married, too, just one year earlier, in August 1970. We haven’t gotten to that letter yet, but it’s coming.

Reading this one, you can feel how much she missed him. And how much they loved each other — not just in a big romantic way, but in the tiny dailiness of it all.

This one’s tender, funny, and real — and I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to get to share it.

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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On July 12, 1971, Captain Dick Allgood mailed five separate letters from Vietnam—all in one night—just to share a handful of candid helicopter photos with the woman he loved more than life itself.

The pictures were a surprise gift from a fellow airman, but instead of keeping them to himself, Dick thought only of Sarah. In these short but sweet notes, we see a man who was thoughtful, intentional, and madly in love. He didn’t just send snapshots—he sent joy, affection, and a piece of his world overseas.

This episode compiles three of those five letters—each one brimming with tenderness, mischief, and genuine excitement to make his pregnant wife smile from 8,000 miles away.

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 July 12, 1971, Captain Dick Allgood writes the first of five letters to his wife, Sarah. It’s the day she’s officially discharged from the U.S. Air Force, and he fills the page with excitement, tenderness, and pride.

He tells her to expect a wave of mail—each envelope packed with color photos from a recent helicopter flight in Vietnam, including a few candid shots of himself that he didn’t know were being taken. It’s a gesture of love, meant to make the distance feel a little smaller.

He also shares news of a major purchase: a high-end stereo system. A Sansui 5000X receiver. An Akai 365D tape deck. Speakers already bought. A turntable still to come. It’s one of the best systems available, and he’s proud they “certainly can afford it.” It’s a gift to both of them—because they’ve always shared a love of music.

The letter closes with deep affection and a powerful reflection on the life they’ve built so far: a love that began unexpectedly, turned into a marriage, and is now growing into a family. His voice is steady, full of pride and longing, and entirely devoted to the woman he calls his precious chickadee.

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