The Allgoods: Vietnam Through the Eyes of Love

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This is the second letter my dad, Captain Dick Allgood, wrote on June 17, 1971 — a quiet but incredibly tender note sent from Vietnam to my mom, Sarah, who was back at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, pregnant with me.

He opens with a simple apology: he missed the morning mail run, so he’s sending this one regular. But what follows is anything but ordinary.

He tells her to always dream of him — “wet or dry” — and thanks her for the audio tape she sent, while gently admitting he “cheated with only one side.” And then, as only he could, he signs off with a love note straight from the heart. He reminds her that there’s a man out there, completely in love with a girl named Sarah — and that she can “bet her sweet ‘quiff’” exactly who that man is.

As their daughter, I never got to see this version of their love while they were alive. But here it is — in ink, in his voice, with all the humor, devotion, and softness that made their bond so unshakable.

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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 letter from June 17, 1971, my dad — Captain Dick Allgood — writes to my mom, Sarah, from Vietnam.

She’s at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, pregnant with me. He’s halfway around the world, but he’s still thinking about everything — whether her special delivery letter got mailed, what her coworkers are like, how she’s feeling, and how their friends are doing. He even tells her about a book he picked up that made him think of one of her favorite phrases: “slam-bam thank you ma’am.”

But as always, it’s the quiet lines that hit the hardest.

“Do you know that I have never had a questionable day in my life since I married you?”

Even now, decades later, that line makes me stop.

I found these letters after both of my parents were gone. And reading them now — as their daughter — I’m learning just how deep their connection was, and how much they leaned on that love to get through the distance, the war, and the waiting.

Thank you for listening, and for helping me carry their story forward.

Follow along at TheAllgoodsLove.com

Support the show at Patreon.com/TheAllgoodsLove

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 deeply personal letter from June 16, 1971, Captain Dick Allgood writes to Sarah from Vietnam on a sweltering, emotionally heavy day. He’s just watched Patton again, he’s feeling the weight of distance, and the loneliness is creeping in — but even in that space, his devotion to Sarah is unwavering.

What begins with a playful “How do you like being the wife of me?” quickly turns into something more reflective. He opens up about the mental toll of Vietnam, the dangers of drugs and depression in-country, and the grounding force that keeps him centered: his love for her.

He jokes about “the pause that refreshes,” gives her advice on CBPO logistics, reassures her about a tape recording, and wraps it all with a line that says it all:

“You take up 99 and 44/100% of my thoughts, mind, and soul — 100% of my heart.”

This is a letter full of longing, honesty, practicality, and a kind of love that carries across oceans and decades. Thank you for listening — and for being part of this journey, one letter at a time.

Follow along at theallgoodslove.com or support the project at patreon.com/TheAllgoodsLove.

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 heartfelt letter from June 15, 1971, Captain Dick Allgood writes to his wife, Sarah, from Vietnam on a rare day off. After watching a movie about honesty in relationships, he finds himself feeling homesick and deeply reflective. He shares what it means to miss her — not just physically, but emotionally — and what it feels like to love someone so much that just seeing and talking to them would be enough.

At this point in the war, Dick is flying dangerous rescue missions with the U.S. Air Force, while Sarah is back in San Antonio, pregnant with their first child. They’ve only been married a year, and already they’re learning what it means to stay emotionally connected across a world of distance.

This letter is tender, raw, and filled with the kind of vulnerable honesty that only grows stronger under pressure. As Dick writes, “I guess that the real test of love is to want someone so much that one would be happy to just see and talk.”

If you’re listening, thank you for walking with me through this story — one letter at a time.

Follow along at theallgoodslove.com or support the project at patreon.com/TheAllgoodsLove.

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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After a few weeks in Florida, I’m back home in Montana — back to the letters, and back to the long road ahead.

This is the June 15, 1971 letter from my mom, Sarah, to my dad, Dick, written during the height of their separation in the Vietnam War. It’s intimate, emotional, funny, raw, and full of the kind of unfiltered honesty that makes these letters so unforgettable.

I’ll be honest — I fell behind these past few days. Traveling, spending time with family, and just trying to stay present. But picking up this letter again reminds me just how important this project is. It’s a huge undertaking — hundreds and hundreds of letters, between now and March of next year — and at times, it’s overwhelming.

If you’re listening, thank you. If you believe in what this podcast is preserving, please consider sharing it, leaving a review, or supporting the project at patreon.com/TheAllgoodsLove. Every little bit of encouragement helps keep me going.

These letters aren’t just my parents’ love story — they’re part of our collective history. And I’m so grateful you’re here to witness it with me

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 Father’s Day episode, I read a letter my dad, Captain Dick Allgood, wrote to my mom, Captain Sarah Allgood, on June 14, 1971, while on alert in Vietnam. The day before, he was dreaming of sunshine. Today, he’s dreaming of her — her body, her scent, her softness — and the baby they had planned together before he deployed. That baby was me.

Sarah was still serving in the Air Force then, working as a nurse while newly pregnant and exhausted. In this letter, Dick reflects on how much he wishes he could be with her for all of it — the ups, the downs, the daily details. He didn’t get a letter from her that day, but he did hear from both sets of parents, and he was especially touched by the velvet-rimmed cards she had sent.

He jokes tenderly about their private “quarter bank” — a system they made up to tally each time they took care of their needs alone — and insists no one else could ever compare to her. He rearranges his room, rereads her letters, and imagines a future where her full-time job is caring for their baby and their marriage.

It’s a letter full of longing and loyalty, tenderness and teasing — but above all, it’s about the quiet, growing reality of fatherhood.

This Father’s Day, I honor my dad by reading his words aloud — the words of a man who already loved his child before he ever held her.

🖋️ Read more and follow along at TheAllgoodsLove.com

💌 Support this story at Patreon.com/TheAllgoodsLove

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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It’s Father’s Day morning, 2025, and I’m sitting quietly in Miami at my best friend Kelly’s house while the rest of the house sleeps. I’m using this early moment to catch up on one of the two letters my parents wrote on June 14, 1971. I fell behind yesterday—life happens—but I’m back at it today, because this project is my way of honoring them. They never stopped writing to each other. And I don’t want to stop either.

My dad, Dick Allgood, was in Vietnam. My mom, Sarah, was in San Antonio—working as an Air Force nurse and newly pregnant with me. Even with a war raging and a baby on the way, they wrote every single day. Most days, two letters. Some days, maybe a tape. But always something. Always love.

In this letter, my mom shares a poem with my dad called Non-Stop. It’s about how their friendship never ended, even when they fell in love. And that was true for them. They were best friends their entire lives. Everyone who knew them—friends I’m seeing now here in Miami—saw it. They loved each other with a kind of devotion most people never find.

She writes that she’s feeling “wittle icky in the A.M.,” and she’s exhausted. But still, she shows up in this letter with tenderness, humor, and hope. And on this day—just days before what would’ve been my dad’s very first Father’s Day—she keeps writing. She keeps choosing him.

This project is a labor of love. It takes time and emotion and presence every single day. But they gave that to each other, so I’ll keep giving it too.

This one is for them.

This one is for all of us who believe in a love that never stops.

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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Today’s letter comes to you from Miami, recorded after an especially emotional and meaningful morning.

At sunrise, we took a boat across Biscayne Bay to Boca Chita Key, near Elliott Key, where I was able to spread my mother’s ashes in the waters and place she so dearly loved.

This spot held deep personal significance for her — for years, we participated as a family in the Columbus Day Regatta, a cherished tradition that brought us back to these waters every fall. Today, with my husband, my son, and my lifelong best friend Kelly — whose family served with mine at Homestead Air Force Base — I was able to honor that tradition one final time, fulfilling my mom’s wish to rest in this beloved place.

It was only fitting to come back from that experience and record this letter from my father — written after he had sent a long tape to my mother, trying across distance and time to keep their connection alive.

As I read his words today, with both of their journeys complete, I feel the power of how love truly does travel — across oceans, across years, and through the memories we hold and the stories we share.

Thank you for joining me on The Allgoods: Vietnam Through the Eyes of Love — where the past, present, and future continue to meet in these letters and moments.

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 today’s letter, Dick writes to Sarah during a long, rainy day on alert in Vietnam. His words are full of longing, tenderness, and a deep sense of connection — reminding her, and all of us, that their love was about far more than physical closeness.

From the sweet humor of their private “chick-a-dee” exchanges to his reflections on how they “make love in so many ways” — even through these letters — this is a powerful window into how they held each other close through distance and time.

As their daughter reading this now, I can feel how much my father wanted to be present, to protect her, to take care of her each day — and how these small acts of connection helped them both survive the separation.

Follow along at theallgoodslove.com

Support the project at patreon.com/TheAllgoodsLove

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 letter, Sarah writes a late-night note to Dick after yet another lonely evening out with friends. Her longing for him grows stronger by the day — and tonight, she doesn’t hold back.

This intimate letter captures the rawness of their separation: from her growing frustration at empty parties, to a moment of pure physical longing when Dick’s words stir her most private desires. It’s a window into the honest, playful, and deeply sensual connection that bound them across the miles.

As their daughter reading this decades later, I’m reminded how human and real their love was — joyful, imperfect, and alive with longing. These are the letters they never thought would be read aloud — but now, they’re here for us all to witness.

Follow along at theallgoodslove.com

Support the project at patreon.com/TheAllgoodsLove

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