Dearest Suzie

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, we reach the final stretch of Popi’s tour. August 1965 was a month of counting days, packing bags, and fighting nerves. Stationed in Da Nang, Popi spent most of the month in limbo, flying only a handful of missions while waiting on official word of his return home. His letters are full of restlessness, doubt, and fatigue, but also humor, tenderness, and hope. He checks on Suzie, gives instructions for back pay and savings bonds, and dreams aloud about being a husband and father again. Popi's voice shifts this month. His tone softens. The war becomes more memory than menace, and his words begin to reach not just across the Pacific, but into the future. At one point, he tells Suzie he’ll probably never be able to explain what it was like in Vietnam. In a way, that’s what the letters have done for him, and for all of us. This episode marks the final entry in his year of writing from Vietnam. Additionally, I write my own letters, reflecting on my time working on this project and my visit to see Popi, at the Florida National Cemetery. I end the show with my own letter to Suzie, better known as Mema. Follow Dearest Suzie on social media: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1GwqPyO061k0iaQRKwfjoQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dearestsuziepodcast/ X: https://x.com/DearestSuziePod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dearestsuziepodcast 📧 Have a story to share or want to reach out? Email me at [email protected] — I’d love to hear from you! VietnamWar #LettersHome #DaNang1965 #InheritTheStories #HelicopterPilot #VietnamLetters #MilitaryHistory #FamilyHistory #DearestSuzie #MemoryAndMyth #FinalTour #ComingHome #August1965 #CountdownToHome

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, I write not just about Popi’s time in Vietnam, but about everything that’s come after. Sixty years after his letters home, I’m the same age he was in 1965 and I took the time to write him a letter of my own, describing my experiences working on this show. This isn’t a scripted history lesson or a dramatic retelling, it’s a conversation across time. I share what life’s been like since he passed, how much he’s missed, what I’ve learned from his words, and what it meant to help his voice live on through this podcast. Alongside that, I reflect on the meaning of legacy, family, and memory. I visit Popi’s grave at Florida National Cemetery, explore some newly uncovered VHS tapes from the 1980s, and speak directly to Mema, whose voice and resilience shaped every part of this story. This episode marks the end of Dearest Suzie, but it’s not a goodbye. It’s a "Thank You." For listening, for remembering, and for keeping the love alive. Thank you for allowing me to inherit this story. What’s Covered: A letter to Popi, 60 years after his own Visiting Florida National Cemetery The meaning behind coins on military graves Unearthed VHS tapes and old family footage A letter to Mema, and her fight against cancer Reflections on war, legacy, faith, and family 📷 Featured Photo: A photo of Mema and Popi decades ago, dressed for a military ball. 🔔 If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing the show with a friend or loved one. Follow Dearest Suzie on social media: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1GwqPyO061k0iaQRKwfjoQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dearestsuziepodcast/ X: https://x.com/DearestSuziePod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dearestsuziepodcast 📧 Have a story to share or want to reach out? Email me at [email protected] — I’d love to hear from you! VietnamWar #LettersHome #FamilyHistory #OralHistory #InheritTheStories #FloridaNationalCemetery #MilitaryGraves #Legacy #Veterans #VietnamPodcast #Cardinals #MemoryAndMyth #DearestSuzie #Mema #Popi

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Popi writes an undated letter from Vietnam. Charlie, his mischievous monkey, has finally been locked up after stealing candy from a care package. His cage now sits just outside Popi’s hootch, becoming a regular attraction on base. But even this lighthearted story carries weight, about control, comfort, and how we try to make chaos manageable. The letter shifts unexpectedly when Popi recounts a serious cyclo accident that left his friend, Burke Badgett, unconscious and badly injured. The crash wasn’t war-related, just a freak moment—and yet it rattled Popi deeply. He thought Burke might be dead. This episode explores the unexpected dangers and quiet loneliness of war. Not every scare comes from battle. Some come from chance. Some from distance. And some from the aching quiet after looking at photos of the people you love. Popi ends this letter not with drama, but with honesty, missing home so much it hurts, learning just how deep his love for Suzie and the boys has grown over the last eight years. What’s Covered: Charlie’s candy theft and new cage placement The unplanned violence of a cyclo accident in town Burke Badgett’s injuries and Popi’s fear he had died The emotional weight of distance and memory How writing letters became a lifeline through loneliness 📷 Featured Photo: Charlie the monkey, perched confidently atop a helicopter, staring into the distance. Popi captured the moment, a symbol of mischief, companionship, and forward-looking hope, two copilots, both looking to the sky. 🔔 If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe! Follow Dearest Suzie on social media: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1GwqPyO061k0iaQRKwfjoQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dearestsuziepodcast/ X: https://x.com/DearestSuziePod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dearestsuziepodcast 📧 Have a story to share or want to reach out? Email me at [email protected] — I’d love to hear from you! VietnamWar #HueyHelicopter #CharlieTheMonkey #MilitaryHistory #WarLetters #InheritTheStories #FamilyHistory #OralHistory #LookingToTheSky

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Popi writes on August 16, 1965. His orders still haven’t come through, but the destination is set: Fort Rucker, Alabama. He’s already packed, ready to ship his belongings, and growing restless as the end of his tour draws closer. Though he isn’t thrilled about the post, he admits there are worse places, and at least they won’t have to move far. He jokes with Suzie about her surviving one more month with three kids, and signs off with the hope that she’ll be happy with the news. This episode dives into the legacy of Fort Rucker, the home of Army aviation. During the Vietnam War, tens of thousands of helicopter pilots trained there, including Popi. The post became the proving ground for a new kind of warfare; airmobile, fast-moving, and flexible. From training on the UH-1 Huey to perfecting nap-of-the-earth flight, Fort Rucker shaped the strategy that defined the American war effort in Southeast Asia. What’s Covered: Popi’s update from Vinh Long and news of his next post The evolution of Fort Rucker into the Army Aviation Center How helicopter warfare transformed military tactics during Vietnam The role of training in adapting to a new kind of combat Reflections on this being the final letter in the chronological collection 📷 Featured Photo: A dreamlike shot of an early morning flight line—helicopters and planes parked on the tarmac as the sun rises. Some men walk in the distance. Perhaps this was the kind of view Popi saw on one of his final mornings in-country. 🔔 If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe! I’ll be posting new episodes regularly, sharing letters and stories from exactly 60 years ago, as written by my grandfather. Follow Dearest Suzie on social media: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1GwqPyO061k0iaQRKwfjoQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dearestsuziepodcast/ X: https://x.com/DearestSuziePod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dearestsuziepodcast 📧 Have a story to share or want to reach out? Email me at [email protected] — I’d love to hear from you! VietnamWar #FortRucker #ArmyAviation #HelicopterPilot #MilitaryHistory #WarLetters #InheritTheStories #FamilyHistory #OralHistory

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Popi writes on August 13, 1965, from a villa in Saigon. He’s groggy, hungry, and still waiting on the orders that will send him home. But in between complaints about raunchy coffee and missing breakfast, there’s something else stirring: thoughtfulness. With only weeks left in-country, he’s begun souvenir shopping, jewelry boxes for the grandmothers, cloth for his sisters, a uniform for Al. He even buys a tablecloth from a group of Irish Catholic nuns, fully aware it won’t fit any table they own. “I just call it my contribution to the war effort,” he jokes. This episode explores the quiet acts of care that soldiers engage in at the end of a long deployment. From a conversation over raisin cake with nuns raising money for an orphanage, to his quip that Suzie will only receive about fifteen more letters, Popi is beginning to shift. He’s thinking not just about going home, but about what he’s bringing back with him—and what kind of man he wants to be when he gets there. That too-small tablecloth becomes a kind of symbol: proof that generosity can persist, even amid exhaustion, even when it doesn’t quite fit. What’s Covered: Bill’s R&R in Saigon and frustration with delayed orders His visits with Irish Catholic nuns raising money for an orphanage Souvenir shopping as a ritual of return Quiet reflections on nearing the end of a year-long deployment 📷 Featured Photo: A woman stands in the foreground of a storefront display filled with candle holders, porcelain vases, and mother-of-pearl jewelry boxes—just like the ones Mema kept for decades. 🔔 If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe! I’ll be posting new episodes regularly, sharing letters and stories from exactly 60 years ago, as written by my grandfather. Follow Dearest Suzie on social media: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1GwqPyO061k0iaQRKwfjoQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dearestsuziepodcast/ X: https://x.com/DearestSuziePod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dearestsuziepodcast 📧 Have a story to share or want to reach out? Email me at [email protected] — I’d love to hear from you! VietnamWar #SouvenirsOfWar #IrishNuns #SaigonStories #MilitaryHistory #WarLetters #InheritTheStories #DearestSuzie #FamilyHistory #OralHistory