This letter from late February 1975 continues the strange clash of images in her missives. On one hand, she begins with “the days are pretty much routine, and we seem to be busy all of the time,” then goes on to finish with this startling paragraph:
Things are rather quiet now altho the fighting will increase we are told. Our leader gave us a briefing the other day and I am still not quite sure of what he said but he doesn’t see this country falling in the foreseeable future and “we are as safe here or safer than any large city in the US.” So, don’t worry!
Don’t worry? How could her parents not have worried, with their daughter and her brood of seven kids smack dab in the middle of the seemingly endless war in Vietnam?
This is one of her shortest letters and one of the last ones before panic sets in at the end of March 1975.
To learn more about this series of unedited letters that document my family’s life alongside the unraveling of Saigon before the Fall (1974-75), see this note:
So glad to hear from both of you – – and Carla [my childhood name] was happy too! I knew that you would be happy to see the photos. Also, Chris was happy to hear from you Mom. Well, time marches on and altho the days are pretty much routine and we seem to be busy all of the time.
The Saigon Streets always seemed to be busy. Photo courtesy of Karen Kaiser.
Tet has come and gone—I was really busy without the maids here. Basically, I spent my time trying to find my way around their two kitchens. Couldn’t find a thing. Tet eve the maids and Mr. Bi bought and cooked us a VietNamese (sic) dinner and it was very nice. Socially, this has been a very busy period for all of us.
The night before Jim and the boys were to go to Nha Trang we received a call and told that the plane was full up as some men had to go up TDY—so they could not go. The kids were very disappointed to say the least. However, Jim hopes to reschedule the trip soon. He and Jimmy leave on Wed. to go to Clark Air Base, Phillipines, to see the eye specialist. They’ll make reservations to return once they get there so I don’t know exactly how long they’ll be gone.
This has been a strange dry season,i.e. – we’ve had rather a lot of rain. And, there has been a lot of illness going around. Michelle has been sick about a week and Jimmy has a bad cold too.
Mr. Lim, my TaeKwonDo teacher took our entire family to a Korean Restaurant for lunch one Sunday and we really enjoyed it. He is really a nice guy. Oh, by the way, last Friday I took my exam and now am a yellow belt. I couldn’t care less about the belt part of it but really love the exercise.
Yesterday we all went out to Fr. Crawford’s house in Gia Ding for afternoon Mass and an open house. It is a beautiful area and so quiet and peaceful (by day). By night it is war. Tonight the Catholic Ladies Guild has a meeting. Usually about five of us show up. Even so, we usually manage to get a few things done for Father.
The boys are still furiously playing basketball every day. Hopefully this weekend they will have a couple of games against the Chinese. They are all on bowling teams too.
Things are rather quiet now altho the fighting will increase we are told. Our leader gave us a briefing the other day and I am still not quite sure of what he said but he doesn’t see this country falling in the foreseeable future and “we are as safe here or safer than any large city in the US.” So, don’t worry!
I must scoot—will write again soon—another action-packed letter, ha ha. Take care of yourselves and God bless you both. Love from all of us.
These “Stories of Vietnam” offer a historical and personal glimpse into the Vietnam Era, a history worth preserving and sharing. If you agree, please support my efforts by liking, commenting, or reposting.
I am the author of the nonfiction book, For the Love of Vietnam: a war, a family, a CIA official, and the best evacuation story ever heard, which combines the history of the Vietnam War with tales from my family’s lives including how we resided in Saigon in 1974-75 as the North Vietnamese Army was making its way toward the city, and how, at the eleventh hour, my father, a CIA official, coordinated the rescue of over 1,000 South Vietnamese—the staff and families of “House Seven.”
I continue to publish current and retrospective “Stories of Vietnam” here on Substack, adding layers to my own stories and featuring other voices, including those of Vietnam veterans and Vietnam refugees. I reside in the Capital District of New York.
Another good one - thanks for sharing! Reminded me of the new boss we got for our Saigon office group, in late '71. He had just come from a Washington, D.C. assignment, and after he had been in Saigon a little while, he expressed his surprise at how much safer he felt in Saigon - the war zone - than in Washington, D.C.! And it really was a quiet time, at least for a little while, relative to the overall war. How quickly things can change. Your "Story" is a good reminder to appreciate the good in each day, as it comes. Thank you, Kat.
I burst out laughing when I read your mom relaying that leadership (would that have been the ambassador?) said that they were as safe or safer in Saigon than in a large American city. The recruiters for Army Libraries were quick to assure me that the “only” Special Services women who had died in Vietnam were killed in a jeep accident and a plane crash. Could just as easily have happened at home. They didn’t mention the USAID and humanitarian men and women who had been killed or captured during Tet ‘68. It was before Sharon Lane, Army Nurse Corps, was killed by a rocket in Chu Lai. Weirdly, though, I was living in and working in New York City after I came home in the early seventies. Things were pretty rough then, but I went all over the city and witnessed two gang invasions of the library where I worked, utilizing all the survival skills I had learned in Vietnam and thinking often, well this isn’t so bad. It’s just like Vietnam. So maybe he wasn’t completely wrong in his safety assessment. 😋
Another good one - thanks for sharing! Reminded me of the new boss we got for our Saigon office group, in late '71. He had just come from a Washington, D.C. assignment, and after he had been in Saigon a little while, he expressed his surprise at how much safer he felt in Saigon - the war zone - than in Washington, D.C.! And it really was a quiet time, at least for a little while, relative to the overall war. How quickly things can change. Your "Story" is a good reminder to appreciate the good in each day, as it comes. Thank you, Kat.
Gary Tyndall
I burst out laughing when I read your mom relaying that leadership (would that have been the ambassador?) said that they were as safe or safer in Saigon than in a large American city. The recruiters for Army Libraries were quick to assure me that the “only” Special Services women who had died in Vietnam were killed in a jeep accident and a plane crash. Could just as easily have happened at home. They didn’t mention the USAID and humanitarian men and women who had been killed or captured during Tet ‘68. It was before Sharon Lane, Army Nurse Corps, was killed by a rocket in Chu Lai. Weirdly, though, I was living in and working in New York City after I came home in the early seventies. Things were pretty rough then, but I went all over the city and witnessed two gang invasions of the library where I worked, utilizing all the survival skills I had learned in Vietnam and thinking often, well this isn’t so bad. It’s just like Vietnam. So maybe he wasn’t completely wrong in his safety assessment. 😋