Cu-Chi, Wednesday, April 2,
ll:30 pm:
I didn't do much barbering
today because I was at the dentist getting my tooth filled again. The filling they gave me at Ft. MacArthur fell out on the plane coming over, then I had
it filled in Lon-binh before I came here
and that filling fell out at chow last night. So today I went and got another one put
in. It's such a good color match
you can't see it and it's a synthetic
enamel type cement so it's real hard. I
just hope it lasts for a while.
I got me an AK-47 Chinese
assault rifle today so now I have to
figure a way to get it home without any risk.
I'll think of something or another.
It's a real cute gun and it didn't cost me anything. Can I keep it? OK? Please?
Sgt Dave Anderson from the 1/5th Mech. Inf. came
over again so we're still trying to get him here into Cu-chi and out of the field. He's really taking a beating out there.
Went to the movie
tonight and saw "The Honey Pot", a pretty good murder mystery. I also bought me a photo album
today to put your pictures in so
I can look at them all the time.
I'll call you when I go into Saigon Sunday so
be home. It'll be Saturday where you
are and you should be there.
I
love you so stay sweet and humble like me.
Cu-Chi, Thursday, April 3,
9:30 pm:
I'm lonely tonight so I'm
going to go to bed early dream about you.
I was busy and on my feet all
day and so after supper and my
shower I laid down and took a nap. It
sure felt good after being up late the last two nights.
I went down and ordered
some china for Larry and
Barbara today and I'll send off the slip tomorrow so it ought to
get to them late this month or so.
It's not as nice
as ours but then that would be dumb to give equal
china away. I'll save the special sets
for you and me.
I'm really looking forward
to calling you when I get to
Saigon. I have so much to say and
yet when I talk to you I'll probably forget everything except I love you.
The General came in again
today and all he could talk about
was the neck rub with the vibrator
I gave him last week. He didn't
have time today though. He's
really a likeable old guy for a
two star general.
Here's my latest list of things I could use: A
picture of you!
A good back rub!
A little rain to keep the dust
down.
Oh yes, when you use the
flash plug it in and let it set
and charge for
l0-15 minutes before you
start shooting. 1t111
put out more light then and your pictures will
turn out better. And my
brilliant wife, your figuring about the flash number was perfect, 5-6 is right.
You are so smart it scares me. You might become too smart and want your
independence like Pix and Gin (his wife
who left him). Stay
just a little dependent on me, OK?
I need someone I can work for and accomplish things for, namely you!
The wind is
turning around so the rains
should be coming soon. I'll let you
know if the Monsoon compares with
the great Los Angeles floods.
Cu-Chi, Friday, April 4,
1l:30 pm:
Tonight was a jackpot
night on mail. I got a letter from Pix
30 miles away, dated 15 March, two
letters from you postmarked
30 and 31-March, a package with clipper oil in it, another bunch of
magazines from you and some army magazines for the barber shop. It took me 30 minutes to read it all and I
still haven't looked at the magazines.
Tonight at 5:00 o'clock I
quit barbering and rebuilt my
room. I put down a new floor and extended the wall
out so my bed could turn around sideways, put in a wall locker and new screens. It's really nice now compared to the dirt
sump the other barber lived in. You
know how I hate to have things
dirty anyway and especially where I have to sleep. So I got most of it done tonight and as time
goes on I'll finish
this place into a
"Class One" room for myself.
I'm
going to Saigon Monday instead of Sunday
so I'll call you Easter Sunday - so be home! Other
than working on my room and fixing the place up there isn't much to
report. Every once in a while something
explodes outside and makes
my heart beat a double skip, but it's been real quiet here (knock on
straw).
My hootch girl got sick so I
had a new one today and she didn't stop smiling and laughing from 9 am
to 4 pm. It seemed as if she'd been
smoking dope the way she was so happy.
I'll see if she's the same tomorrow before I judge
her. She's a cutie though, about 14-15
or so, a little young but then so were you when I met you. Now you're older and more mature and just
the way I eat up on.
Cu-Chi,
Saturday, April 5, ll:00 pm: (239 days to DROS)
I love you more than ants
love sugar, more than flies love
garbage pails, more than kids
love dirt, more than anything else in the world. I just got back from the flick where I saw "Rosemary's Baby". Man,
I can see why women get jittery
during pregnancy. That movie
made me feel sad for poor Mia Farrow except that she cut her hair too
short. I'm sure glad that we have
healthy, good-looking girls. You really
know how to do it.
When I get back we'll have to try again. Maybe we can make a singing group, "The Jake Sisters”.
Tomorrow is Easter here and today
I received three Easter cards
from my three favorite girls, Dee, Sue and Sandia. Oops, I mean Janet, Jonette and Nikki Lynne.
You girls sure know how to make a daddy feel proud and cheer him up. Keep up the good work.
My neck has
been bothering me the last
few days because I'm always looking down at the people’s heads. I make it through the day, but just barely
it seems. I'm
going to Saigon Monday, Easter
Sunday to you. When I call you'd better
be home or I'll really be mad.
Guess what? My civvies
came tonight and I went to a
short timers party (he goes home Monday) with my Garden of Eden tee shirt
on and they loved it. They want me to screen some tee
shirts for them.
The 9th Chemical Detachment Sniffers.
They go out in a helicopter with some sophisticated machine and fly
about at treetop level and the
machine tells them if anyone is in the area by the dust and body ammonia
in the air. I hang out at their TV room
a lot so I thought I'd try and do
it if you can send me the stuff. It's
in the garage in the cabinet in a box near the records. I'll
need a frame (the General Telephone one will do), a can of lacquer
thinner, acetone (adhering
liquid) and the ink (black,
red or green and whatever else),
a squeegee, some lacquer paper (the orange
stuff), my exacto knife and whatever else you
think I need.
If you can figure it out and send it, OK. If not, then also OK.
It's not important but would be fun.
Cu-Chi, Sunday, April 6,
9:15 pm:
It's your #1 big, bouncy lover man calling you again.
Keep the home fires burning 'cause I'm coming home in only 238 days and a wake up. (or sooner)
Today was
Easter Sunday and I greeted everyone with a happy Easter today to set
the mood. It was a beautiful, quiet morning and stayed
nice the whole day. I went to church this afternoon and gave a
little thanks for you and the girls
in fast meeting because I want
everyone to know how much I love you.
My ears are playing tricks
on my heart tonight. Every so
often a big
explosion rocks the hootch like
a rocket coming in and my heart skips 2-3 beats and then tries
to catch up all
at once. Everyone
says you can hear them whistle
when they come in but I sure didn't
the last time and
now with the radio and fan going, helicopters flying
overhead, jeeps going by and the
TV next door
too loud, it's all I can do to
concentrate on writing this letter.
It's a
beautiful evening tonight and I
don't have to work tomorrow because I'm going to Saigon to call
you, so it's double nice. Would you believe one month ago tomorrow I left the World to come
to this cockroach paradise. The first one went fast so I hope the rest
go even faster.
Pix called
today. He's lonesome for a buddy to hang around with. He said he got a letter from
you and sends his love back. Good girl.
I spent an
hour this evening taking apart my AK-147 rifle, trying
to figure out how to ship it
home. I need some
liquid wrench to get one piece
off and then I'll have it in small enough pieces that I can
ship it home
easy. It's really cute. I get my first
ride in a helicopter tomorrow so
it ought to be exciting to say the least.
I finally got me a real GI
Bush Hat like you see on Walter
Cronkhite. I put my little Sgt
stripes on the front and a Tropic
Lightning patch on
the side at
a rakish angle. Wow,
do I look like a real soldier
now when I walk around.
My ears just made me hit the
floor again. I heard
an unknown whistle and hit the
floor but it only turned out to be a diesel truck coming by. It's
good I live alone so nobody laughs at me when I duck.
Do you know that I've
received to date almost $260 in tips? I
don't know where it all went because
I only have about $100 on me
now. However, I ought to start saving
now 'cause I have almost everything I need
now. I'm going
to fix up my
barber shop in the next while
after I send you $200 to buy you a birthday present with.
I just counted up how much
I've spent since
I got here. (I
keep a record) It totals $1.00 less than I've made in tips
Well honey, it's
bedtime. I'll have a whole bunch
to write about tomorrow night.