You are currently browsing the monthly archive for July 2008.
This was sent for her birthday, which is in Mid-July, so this one should have been the first post. At the time my scanner wasn’t so much as scanner as a paperweight, so here you go. I’ll probably move this post to it’s rightful place after a couple of days so new visitors will have a proper timeline.
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Postmark July 24th, 1967. Denver, Colorado. (Evening)
Dear R,
They’re playing “Cherish” by the Association on the radio now. I was lying on the bed thinking about you when it started, and I knew I had to write you again, even though I just mailed a letter this noon.
That song expresses so well how I feel about you and how so often I feel that “I am not going to be the one to share your dreams.” And I want to so bad. I damn near started crying.
R, I want you to know that I think about you constantly. Every girl I see and every song I hear reminds me in some way of you. I love you so much.
Cherish is the word,
J.
p.s. (over)
P.S. I just read what I wrote on the other side. Something like that is very unusual for me, but I’m sending it anyway because I meant every word of it from my heart.
Love,
J.
P.S. (again) Send me that picture of you I took. I know you’ll start to refuse, but if you don’t I will be highly ticked at you. Okay?
J.
Postmark July 24th, 1967. Denver, Colorado. (Morning)
Good Morning (or something),
I just woke up. Bob’s still sleeping. We got back about 2:00 this morning. The shows weren’t that good, all those Edgar Allen Poe things. Two of them were enough for us.
I just finished reading your letter again. Honey, I love you and I miss you, and I do want to come back to you. But there’s one thing that keeps me out here. Now I have a chance for the future and I want to build that future so that someday, if you’re willing, I can share that future with you. I hope so, because I love you more than I thought it was possible to love anyone, and I always will. I’ve got a lot of things to tell you but first things first. You can keep writing to this address for a while. We’re going to move into a larger apt. in this same building, so the address will be the same. And please do write because I’ve just about worn out your first letter.
The night before last the police shot and killed a young negro who attacked an officer with a knife, and a few days ago they killed another one for something or other. So yesterday there was a demonstration at the police station, which is only a block from our place. It got kind of noisy and I guess there was a little shoving around, but nothing serious. Thought for a while there might be some riots in Denver, too.
We’re also right next door to city auditorium, and KIMN is having their annual Teen-age Fair. It’s been on three days now and has a full week to go yet. I got a kick out of watching some of the kids who think they’re so cool. Some of them tried staging an anti-war demonstration at the police building, but it didn’t amount to much. Well, I think I’ll get out of bed now. I think we’re going to Boulder this afternoon and go swimming. They’ve got a real nice pool there. We’ve swam a couple of times already. May do a little shooting, too. I’ll drop this off on the way. Please let me hear from you again soon. Love you honey.
J.
Postmark July 23rd, 1967. Denver, Colorado.
Dear R,
You don’t know how glad I was to get your letter. I was hoping to get one today but I didn’t really expect it until Mon. I had just come back from a job interview and was telling Bob about it. Ten minutes after I got back he remembered to tell me about your letter. I could have killed him. So I spent the next 45 minutes reading it and re-reading it.
I want to see you so bad it hurts, honey, but I’ll be staying here for sure now. I got a job today in promotional advertising with P.F. Collier, Inc. I get an eleven day training period and get at least $114.50 a week, possibly a lot more depending on how I do in training. There are a lot of possibilities for advancement. Mr. Evans, the personnel manager who interviewed me said that most or all of us he hired (he’s hired several this last week) should make district sales manager within about a year. That runs into the five figure basket, which I sure could use. $$$ We are hoping Bob can get in on this when he turns 18.
R, there is an outside possibility we might make it home over Labor Day. Now I said an outside possibility. But if it’s humanly possible we will. I sure hope we can. Neither Bob nor I care much for Denver. We’ve been up to Boulder quite a bit though and just love it. I found a job up there, too, and I would have actually rather have been able to live up there, but the one with Colliers offers more opportunity as well as money. We went up there this afternoon and told the guy (it was at a Firestone store). He was really nice about it and wished me luck and all. But I couldn’t see taking that job, especially when we got it through and employment agency and would have had to pay them 50% of my first months salary. It was a good salary though, a lot more than I would ever have gotten back home.
Well, gotta go for now. We’re going back to Boulder tonight to an all nite drive in. I’ll write some more tomorrow.
Love,
J
Postmark July 20th, 1967. Denver, Colorado.
Hi Hon,
We’re in Denver. Great. Fine. So tomorrow we go looking for jobs. If a couple of good ones don’t turn up in a few days we’ll push on, but I hope we can stay. I kind of like it.
We stayed right outside of Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park last night. Had a little cabin right on the river and the whole bit. Before we left the lady who ran the place gave us a free pass to that amusement park you were talking about (I can’t remember how to spell it). She left the no. of people blank for us to fill in. We could take a hundred in if we wanted. She was real friendly and helpful. Nice people.
It’s different not knowing anybody in this whole damn town except each other. Kind of nice in a way, but it’ll get boring before long I’m afraid. I’ll be glad when my cousin gets here. That should liven things up quite a bit. I wrote a card to her today so I hope to know when she’ll be up in a couple of days. It should be around the 28th, I think.
This afternoon we left the car at the apt. and went walking around downtown. We’re only about a block from the business district. Anyway, we were walking along and saw this guy crawling along on the curb. Then he just flopped over. We figured he was drunk and were going to go on. But this was pretty early in the afternoon and he didn’t look drunk. He was pretty young and dressed up like a cowboy. So we went to see what was wrong. He was drunk. Then, when we had helped him up we had a hell of a time getting rid of him. He followed us down the street, thanking us for helping him and staggering all over. I was never so glad to get rid of anyone in my whole life.
Bob and I went riding around for a while tonight. Getting to know this burg pretty fair now. Going to go to bed pretty quick now, and it’s only 10:00. Different, huh?
It’s at times like this that I really miss you, honey. It hasn’t really sunk in that it may be months before I see you again. First thing I did today was put your picture in the mirror in our apartment. It’s the one taken in my car and you were wearing that Raiders hat. When ever I start thinking of you and missing you I look at that picture, and then I miss you more. Wish I had about fifty to put up, but then I know I’d leave them all here and head back home, so maybe it’s a good thing I don’t.
Well, it’s getting late (10:05) so I’m going to bed. I’m looking forward to a letter from you. Take her easy.
Love,
J.
I just realized that this is the time of year that my dad started writing to my mom back home, so I’ve decided to start posting the letters on the day of the year they were actually written. This means that when he wrote two in a day, two will be posted. If he didn’t write for a week, it will be a week. For example, if he wrote the letter on Aug 27th, 1967, it will be posted here 41 years later on Aug 27th, 2008.
I don’t think that there will be many delays for a while, I’ve scanned forward in the book and I think 3 days is about the longest he’s gone without writing. If there are major gaps I may eventually have to break this trend, but for now I’ll be posting at an accelerated rate until caught up.
Postmark July 19th, 1967. Denver, Colorado.
R,
Found a place to stay. Harlo Apts., 1011 13th st. We’ll be here a week at least so write. Just got here this morning. Been looking around a bit. Letters soon.
Love,
J.
Postmark July 18th, 1967. Lingle, Wyoming.
Hiya Fuzz,
I’m writing this from some hick town in Wyoming. Stopped to get some stamps so I could send you a nice long letter which I’m in the process of writing. Hope to get to Denver later this afternoon, so maybe I’ll send it tonight. Gotta go now.
Miss you,
J.
Letters from Vietnam 