October 14th Letters from Bobby

14 October 1967 Postmark Bobby to Gayle
Friday Night
Hi Sweetheart, Well, it's hard to believe it's been
almost a week since I've left the states. Lord, I
wish it was just a week until I was coming home.
I love you so much. I got you a birthday present
today. I'm going to mail it tomorrow. I'll insure
it, Gayle i really hope you like it. It was really
the only thing I thought you would like. I'm going
to look around for you some pearls. I haven't found
anything in pearls that I particularly like.
These pictures I have been sending you were taken by
a Polaroid Swinger by one of the PFC's in the company.
He works in the supply room and I'm in pretty good
with him. He has given me 3 more sets of fatigues and
2 more pairs of boots. He's trying to get me some
underwear.

The food here is pretty good. It's a lot better than
I thought it would be. This is one of the few places
in VN that has hot water. The water was so hot tonight
you could hardly stay under it. I saw a Vietnamese
funeral today. It was really pitiful I tried to get
a picture of it, but they told me it was taboo.
Some of the men in the company told me. You wouldn't
believe the grave yard. It is filled with children's
graves. This is really a pitiful country.

It just started raining. It rained for about 30
seconds then quit. It just poured for that time
though. Lord, I'm being eaten up by mosquitoes.
They are really bad around her. Well it has
started raining again. It quit and then it has
started again.
In the picture I'm sending you tonight, the
colored man was one of my instructors at Ft. Lee.
He remembers me. The other 2 are just a couple
of people who work with me.

I wish you could meet me in Hawaii on R & R. I
can take it during the summer and you can get a
good price on the plane. I'll try to save enough
money. So you won't have to pay any of the money
you are trying to save. Gayle, sweetheart, I want
to see you so badly. I love you so very, very
much...more than anything.

Tonight we had a couple of TV films to watch for
the movie. We had the Wild, Wild West and a
combat share. Lord, I wish I could come home.
I'm so lonesome over here.

Well, I'd better go to bed now. I'll write again
tomorrow. Take care of yourself, Little Bit and
Snuff. And remember I think of you all the time
and love you very, very much- more than anything.
All my love always, Your Bobby [Wolpf]


14 October 1967 Postmark Bobby to Gayle

Hello Mouse, Well, how are you? Fine, I hope.
You wouldn't believe how busy I've been today.
This morning I inspected the company. It took
all morning. It was for the pre IG inspections
coming up the 19th. This afternoon I'm going to
be real busy too. I have to get all the gas masks
cleaned. So this will just be a short note to
let you know I'm thinking of you and love you.

This morning at about 1 o'clock we had a practice
alert. It was terrible having to get up that
early and ten staying up about 30 minutes.
There's a man in this company who I believe
is going crazy. He just told me he was going
to kill himself tonight if he didn't get promoted.
I don't really know what to do.

Well, I have to run now. I'll write more tonight.
I love you very, very much darling, more than
anything. Please take care of yourself, Little
Bit and Snuff. I love you very much. All my
love always, Your Bobby [Wolpf]



14 October 1967 Postmark Bobby to Gayle

Saturday
Dear Sweetheart, Well the monsoons have started.
You wouldn't believe it. You know the rains we
had in Columbia last summer? Well, these monsoons
are about 5 times worse. It's thundering and
lightening is all over the place. It's terrible.
There will be mud all over the place, because
our place is lower than most places around here.

I have a Hail and Farewell to go to tonight.
Instead of being hailed I wish I was being
farewelled. I start to work tonight. That's
why I'm writing this letter this afternoon.
I won't get off till about 1:30 am. I guess
from now on I'll be working every night on
Depot Security. Lord I wish I could come home
to you. I love you so much. This is terrible
over here. And the more I think about coming
home to you the worse it gets and the time
just creeps by. This year seems so long. I
want to see you so bad. Everyday seems like
an eternity her without you. I love you so
very, very much darling. I want you so bad.
I don't know how I'm going to stand this year.

I stay scared over here all the time. I don't
trust any of these people. They all look
suspicious. I'll probably be a nervous wreck
by the time I get home. I hope I don't change
too much while I'm over here. The only thing
is I'll be sweeter to you and certainly won't
take you for granted. Maybe this is why I had
to come over here. I never realized just what
you meant to me until I'm faced with being away
for you for a year. I think when I come back we
will land in Seattle, Wash. I'll be so happy to
see that spot. This has been the worst part of
my life. Being away from you like this. I
thought the 10 days I was away from you in
Virginia was bad. Well, it was nothing compared
to this. I love you so very, very much darling.
I wish I would get some mail from you this
afternoon, but it's highly unlikely because you
will probably get my first letter from her today
or Monday. Then it will probably be another 5
or 6 days for your return letter to get here.
I'm going to mail your birthday present tomorrow.
I don't know how long it will take to get to you.

I'm just finding out that my roof leaks. It
doesn't leak too badly though. It's been
raining hard for about 2 hours now and the
wind has been blowing real hard. They say it
gets pretty cold here during the next few
months. It's hard to believe it's been a week
since I left San Francisco. That means I have
about 50 more weeks over here. Or maybe less
because sometimes they will let you come home
about a week early.

Last year Bob Hope came here the day after
Christmas. Maybe he will this year. It sure
won't be like Christmas at home. I wish I
could be there for Christmas. I'm so lonely
over here. I guess there are a lot of other
people over here just like me. I wish I could
run into some of them. But I haven't so far.
Or I wish I could see somebody I know. That
might make it a little bit better but I
doubt it. I just want to be with my Mouse
again. I look at your picture and it seems
to talk to me. I lie awake at night and just
think about you and what it was like and will
be like when we are together. I would just
about give anything to hear you fuss at me.

I guess I have about 50 mosquito bites on me,
plus a heat rash. I bought some baby powder
today for the rash. Everything I see over here
reminds me of you. Gayle, honestly, I must be
the most miserable human in the world right now.

Well I better go now. I'll write again tomorrow.
I love you very, very much. More than anything.
Take care of yourself and Little Bit and Snuff
and I love you. All my love always, Your Bobby


Thought today: “Sadness is a wall between two
gardens.” Kahil Gibran

Hint today: Soda and bottled water both have
expiration dates, but they'll actually never
spoil.