The Allgoods: Vietnam Through the Eyes of Love

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In this letter, my mom writes, “I’m the luckiest girl alive.” And reading it now, I believe her. If someone loved me the way my dad loved her — I’d feel like the luckiest girl alive too.

She had just received two letters and a tape from him in Vietnam. She tells him she could’ve sworn he was right there in bed talking to her. And then she laughs at her own voice on the tape she recorded back — calls it horrible, but says it’s sent in love. She’d just fixed the recorder that weekend, just in time to hear him. And she picked up where he left off — taping a message right back.

But here’s the part I haven’t said out loud until now: I think I know exactly what tapes she was talking about. I think I found them once — after she died.

My dad passed away on February 22, 2020, at 4:44 PM. Less than two weeks later, the world shut down for COVID. I had just a few days to clear out his apartment, alone, after caring for him through cancer. Then that fall, my mom — who had lived in Florida for years — got sick. She was admitted to the hospital the Monday after Thanksgiving and diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. She died on December 28. It was still COVID. I was still alone.

No one came with me. No one helped. I was grieving, in shock, and doing it all — again. I handled the funeral home. Cleaned out her house. Sold her car. Sorted through years of artwork and letters. And deep in one of her dresser drawers, I found a bag of cassette tapes. But I didn’t know what they were. I didn’t think I had any way to play them. I was completely overwhelmed — and I threw them away.

I didn’t know what I was throwing away.

Now, I think I do.

It breaks my heart to know those tapes are gone. But what I still have — are these letters. And through them, I can still hear their voices. Even when the recordings are lost.

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

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In this letter, my mom is still glowing from hearing my dad’s voice — one of those rare phone calls that managed to break through Vietnam’s overloaded phone lines. She tells him there’s only one better way to be woken up — by his kiss, his touch, and the kind of love they shared so easily. But if she can’t have that, a phone call will do just fine.

She pours a glass of their favorite apple juice, tries to settle into a quiet day of old movies and sweet memories, and even makes herself bacon and eggs. But when the neighbors call and invite her down for hamburgers, she pulls herself together — bathes, gets dressed, and throws on her tightest jeans. The ones she bought in Vegas. The ones she swears she won’t be able to wear again next weekend.

Then the tone shifts. One of her friends has a serious horseback riding accident. And without hesitation, my mom drops everything and spends the night by her side — icing her injuries, helping her move, and showing up in that quiet, fierce way she always did. That was who she was. Not just a loving wife — but the kind of friend you could count on when it mattered.

And even after all that, she ends the letter with humor and longing. She calls my dad her “wittle chickie,” and signs off as his lover, his friend, his wife, and the mother of his baby.

Reading this now, I realize how lucky I was to be that baby. To be so deeply loved by a woman like her.

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 is pure devotion. My dad had just gotten off the phone with my mom after finally reaching her — the lines in Vietnam had been down all day, and he was antsy, pacing, waiting to hear her voice. But once he did, something opened up in him. This isn’t just a letter about a phone call — it’s a letter about everything he felt but couldn’t fit into those five minutes.

He tells her, “You are my wittle chickadee.” He says he has a “great big pile of love” for her — so much that she could never dig herself out of it. And he means it. Over and over again in this letter, he tries to put into words what she means to him, how complete she’s made his life, and how the love he has for her will last for the rest of their days.

He’s already thinking ahead — planning the next call, the next letter, the next chance to remind her she’s his entire world. And through every line, you can feel it: she is. This is one of those letters that reminds me just how deep their bond really was

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 10, 1971, my mom wakes up craving waffles — but my dad isn’t there to make them. So she goes to Oscar’s with a friend instead. It’s such a small moment, but it says so much.

My dad wasn’t just a romantic. He was a cook — a good one. Even later in life, when he opened the Allgood Bar & Grill, waffles were always on the menu. It wasn’t just about food — it was how he loved people.

This letter is filled with all the usual things: friendship, films, flirtation, and the heartbreak of a broken audio tape. But the part that sticks with me is that waffle — and the way my mom missed him through something as simple as breakfast.

Because their love wasn’t just written in letters — it was served up daily, in meals, in routines, in the way he took care of her. Even from across the world.

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 is such a snapshot of who my dad was. Written from Vietnam on July 10, 1971, it moves fast — from longing and sex to plane tickets and savings accounts — and somehow it all makes sense. That was my dad: wildly in love with my mom and completely grounded in taking care of her.

He was always financially minded, even back then. Practical, methodical, and constantly thinking ahead — he handled money with care because he saw it as a way to protect his family. And he did.

In this letter, he writes about R&R planning, traveler’s checks, and budgeting for flights to Miami and Hawaii. But he also doesn’t hold back when it comes to how much he wants her — intimately, emotionally, completely.

It’s loving. It’s explicit. And it’s unmistakably him.

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 9, 1971, Sarah leans into the lifelines that are getting her through: her deep love for Dick, the baby growing inside her, and the women around her who keep showing up. From cherry cheesecake and grocery runs to tearful toasts and going-away parties, her community in San Antonio becomes a stand-in for the partner she misses so badly.

Jan, Pam, and others help her prepare for a farewell dinner—one filled with emotion, laughter, and quiet strength. Even in the middle of the loneliness and the postal delays, Sarah finds moments of comfort and connection. She’s counting down—only 60 days to go—and holding on to the belief that everything will be worth it once they’re back in each other’s arms.

This is a letter about friendship, endurance, and the quiet beauty of being held by the people who show up when love is far 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

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In this letter from July 9, 1971, Dick writes from Vietnam with tenderness, apology, and longing. He’s on alert again, soaking up sun on the roof, trying to pass the time—but what’s really on his mind is Sarah.

He congratulates her on her promotion (belatedly, with an honest apology), and dreams of their reunion—both emotional and physical. He tells her he can’t define the word love, but knows that what he feels for her is real and unshakeable. He misses her with an ache that runs through every sentence.

This letter is full of romantic devotion, playful teasing, and a raw, vulnerable need to be seen, loved, and remembered. Their separation may stretch on, but Dick is holding fast to the promise that it will end—and when it does, they’ll make up for lost time in every way.

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 8, 1971, my dad was on alert again — another day of waiting, paperwork, and passing time. But in the middle of it, he sat down to write to my mom. This letter is tender, grounded, and a little raw, filled with his signature blend of blunt honesty and deep love.

He tells her she’s his life — his wife, his lover, and the mama of their babies. He imagines what she must look like pregnant, tells her he’ll be the most loving husband in the world, and reminds her again and again that he can’t wait to come home.

Even in Vietnam, with nothing certain, he was building a future with her — 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

Send us Fan Mail

On July 8, 1971, my mom was just starting to imagine a new kind of life. She had left the Air Force behind and was writing from San Antonio, pregnant with me and dreaming about where she and my dad might end up. In this letter, she asks her friend Judy to send the want ads from the Miami Herald — and you can feel how real that hope was.

What’s incredible is: they made it. They eventually did move to Miami, and that’s where I was raised — until Hurricane Andrew turned our world upside down and pushed our family to Montana.

This letter is a snapshot of the turning point — full of gossip, warmth, longing, and the quiet, everyday details that shaped their future. It’s intimate. It’s funny. And it’s one of the first times she lets herself picture what home could 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

In this letter from July 7, 1971, Captain Dick Allgood writes to his wife, Sarah, from Vietnam, just after receiving three of her letters — one written on Thursday and two on Friday, the day of her farewell party.

He talks through plans for their upcoming R&R in Hawaii, sharing flight arrival times and working out how she’ll get her ticket while visiting Miami. Even from halfway across the world, he’s doing his best to make sure she continues to receive his letters, no matter where she is.

He tells her how glad he is that she’s “beautifully pregnant,” urges her not to overdo it on the trip, and checks in about her doctor’s advice. His letter moves fluidly between practical details and emotional tenderness — reminding her how deeply he loves her, how much he misses her, and how excited he is to finally hold her again.

He signs off the way he often does: full of affection, longing, and the kind of hope that only grows stronger with distance

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