Dearest Suzie

Episode 075: 1965-04-15 | The Cross of Gallantry

April 15th, 2025  |  5 mins 4 secs

1960s war correspondence, army, army history, arvn, asia, aviation, aviation history, bangkok, civil war, family history podcast, grandfather’s vietnam war letters, helicopter pilot, helicopter pilot war stories, huey, legacy of vietnam veterans, letters from vietnam, military, military history, military history podcast, personal vietnam war archive, pleiku, saigon, vc, veteran stories, viet cong, vietnam veteran memoirs, vietnam war, vietnam war diary, vietnam war letters, vietnam war oral history, vietnam war personal accounts, vietnam war photo archive, vinh long, war, war correspondence

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Popi writes on April 15, 1965, reflecting on another quiet day in Vietnam, a general escort mission, and his mounting boredom with downtime. He assumed that transferring to the Cobras would mean more time in the air, but instead, he's stuck in the long stretch of waiting — between missions, between letters, between homecomings.

But in the middle of this letter, almost as an aside, Popi mentions something unexpected. He’s been told to report to Bac Lieu to receive the South Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. “Don’t ask me why I’m getting it,” he writes. “I have no idea.” What he leaves unspoken is that this award, officially called the Anh Dũng Bội Tinh, was one of South Vietnam’s highest honors — the equivalent of the Bronze Star — given to individuals who displayed exceptional bravery in combat.

Whether Popi knew the specific reason or not, the letter gives us a glimpse into how casually many servicemen received these commendations. Sometimes medals were handed out in batches, sometimes quietly suggested by a superior officer. But even if the record-keeping was informal, the courage was real.

Episode 074: 1965-04-13 | The Cost of Waiting

April 13th, 2025  |  5 mins 39 secs

1960s war correspondence, army, army history, arvn, asia, aviation, aviation history, bangkok, civil war, family history podcast, grandfather’s vietnam war letters, helicopter pilot, helicopter pilot war stories, huey, legacy of vietnam veterans, letters from vietnam, military, military history, military history podcast, personal vietnam war archive, pleiku, saigon, vc, veteran stories, viet cong, vietnam veteran memoirs, vietnam war, vietnam war diary, vietnam war letters, vietnam war oral history, vietnam war personal accounts, vietnam war photo archive, vinh long, war, war correspondence

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Popi writes after a long day that started with a trip to the rocket range and ended with the rescue and repair of a downed helicopter. His friend, Louis Litt, made a safe emergency landing, and by nightfall, the ship was patched up and flown out — a rare win in a war where victories are hard to come by.

But the letter quickly shifts. Lt. Tucker, missing for days, has been officially declared dead. There’s a service planned in Saigon, but Popi doesn’t plan to attend. One was enough. These aren’t isolated events anymore — they’re piling up. And the weight of them is starting to show.

Though not mentioned directly, this letter falls the day before Operation Fact Sheet officially launched in Vietnam. Designed by the U.S. Information Service, this psychological operation targeted civilians in rural areas with anti-communist messaging. But like so many efforts to win hearts and minds, it often missed the mark — or worse, made civilians into targets themselves. Popi may not have named the operation, but he flew similar missions. Loudspeaker broadcasts, leaflet drops. Words meant to change minds. Words often drowned out by bullets and fear.

Episode 073: 1965-04-12 | A Holiday Without Candy

April 12th, 2025  |  5 mins 8 secs

1960s war correspondence, army, army history, arvn, asia, aviation, aviation history, bangkok, civil war, family history podcast, grandfather’s vietnam war letters, helicopter pilot, helicopter pilot war stories, huey, legacy of vietnam veterans, letters from vietnam, military, military history, military history podcast, personal vietnam war archive, pleiku, saigon, vc, veteran stories, viet cong, vietnam veteran memoirs, vietnam war, vietnam war diary, vietnam war letters, vietnam war oral history, vietnam war personal accounts, vietnam war photo archive, vinh long, war, war correspondence

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Popi writes home on April 12, 1965, with updates about quiet missions, missed holidays, and an underwhelming U.S.O. show. His tone is light and warm, full of care for Suzie and the boys. He’s glad they bought good shoes, hopes for pictures soon, and gently jokes that the cost of Easter candy might not be worth it. It’s a holiday without candy, but not without love.

There’s no drama in this letter, no combat report or injury to explain. And maybe that’s what makes it special. It’s a window into the quieter moments of war — the ordinary rhythms of an extraordinary time. Just range practice, long days with the “hog,” and reflections on the little things he’s missing back home, like Billy’s school play.

This episode is also about memory, and what it means to honor someone long after they’re gone. I reflect on a Christmas gift I made for my dad — a shadowbox with Popi’s medals, photos, and the only piece of his uniform he kept. It wasn’t about decoration. It was about legacy. And how we choose to remember someone when they’re not around to tell the story themselves.

Accompanied by an aerial photo of Vietnam’s rice fields and winding rivers, today’s episode sits with the quieter parts of wartime — the days without glory, the absence of celebration, and the ways families carry those silences forward.

Episode 072: 1965-04-11 | Town Is Off Limits

April 11th, 2025  |  6 mins 25 secs

1960s war correspondence, army, army history, arvn, asia, aviation, aviation history, bangkok, civil war, family history podcast, grandfather’s vietnam war letters, helicopter pilot, helicopter pilot war stories, huey, legacy of vietnam veterans, letters from vietnam, military, military history, military history podcast, personal vietnam war archive, pleiku, saigon, vc, veteran stories, viet cong, vietnam veteran memoirs, vietnam war, vietnam war diary, vietnam war letters, vietnam war oral history, vietnam war personal accounts, vietnam war photo archive, vinh long, war, war correspondence

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, a night out turns dangerous after a fight between American troops and a South Vietnamese Marine escalates into violence. Popi wasn’t there, but the fallout is immediate. Bars are shot up, one man is stabbed, another beaten, and town is placed off limits indefinitely. “It is a shame,” he writes, “that we have to go out and get shot at by the V.C., then when we get a chance to go to town we have to worry about being shot by the very people we are over here to support.”

The emotional weight of this letter doesn’t come from combat but from the exhaustion of constant tension. Popi writes about sunbathing on a cot, trying to shake off the weight of it all. He shares a newspaper clipping listing the names of three men they lost. A fourth, Lt. Tucker, is still officially missing. “They will still be hoping, when there is no hope.” That line carries a quiet kind of devastation. The war wasn’t just killing soldiers. It was stretching grief across time.

Accompanied by a photo of the Vinh Long welcome sign in three languages, today’s episode sits with the complicated realities of trust, occupation, and the quiet violence that can erupt when alliances fray.

Episode 071: 1965-04-09 | Ray from Lorain

April 9th, 2025  |  5 mins 46 secs

1960s war correspondence, army, army history, arvn, asia, aviation, aviation history, bangkok, civil war, family history podcast, grandfather’s vietnam war letters, helicopter pilot, helicopter pilot war stories, huey, legacy of vietnam veterans, letters from vietnam, military, military history, military history podcast, personal vietnam war archive, pleiku, saigon, vc, veteran stories, viet cong, vietnam veteran memoirs, vietnam war, vietnam war diary, vietnam war letters, vietnam war oral history, vietnam war personal accounts, vietnam war photo archive, vinh long, war, war correspondence

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Bill writes from a quieter moment in Vietnam, just days after attending memorial services for three fellow soldiers killed in action. One of them was Ray Rupcic, a pilot from Lorain, Ohio, and a member of Popi’s original unit. His death, and the absence of his recovered body, hangs over the letter with a quiet weight.

Amid this grief, Popi describes how the platoon coped — heading into town, drinking Vietnamese beer that “tastes like embalming fluid,” and doing their best to forget the pain for a night. The letter reflects the strange and complicated ways soldiers processed loss, especially in a war that didn’t allow much room for mourning.

Bill also shares the outcome of the operation that cost them those lives: a decisive tactical success with hundreds of Viet Cong killed or captured. But his tone stays subdued. “That doesn’t make up for the men we lost,” he writes. It’s a reminder that victory on paper can feel hollow when measured against the people you never get back.

Episode 070: 1965-04-08 | Stars and Stripes

April 8th, 2025  |  5 mins 12 secs

1960s war correspondence, army, army history, arvn, asia, aviation, aviation history, bangkok, civil war, family history podcast, grandfather’s vietnam war letters, helicopter pilot, helicopter pilot war stories, huey, legacy of vietnam veterans, letters from vietnam, military, military history, military history podcast, personal vietnam war archive, pleiku, saigon, vc, veteran stories, viet cong, vietnam veteran memoirs, vietnam war, vietnam war diary, vietnam war letters, vietnam war oral history, vietnam war personal accounts, vietnam war photo archive, vinh long, war, war correspondence

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Bill writes from Saigon after a quiet day spent retrieving helicopters to replace ones lost in action. Though brief, his letter includes a small gesture that opens up a much broader reflection: he encloses a map from the Stars and Stripes military newspaper, hoping it helps Suzie follow what’s happening overseas.

Accompanied by a photo of a map later found hanging in his home office, today’s episode considers the role of Stars and Stripes during the Vietnam War — not just as a newspaper, but as a cultural and emotional lifeline. It balanced morale-boosting stories with frank coverage of the war’s realities, offering American troops a connection to home and an outlet for navigating the confusion and contradictions of combat.

All Episodes, March 1965

April 2nd, 2025  |  1 hr 28 mins

1960s war correspondence, army, army history, arvn, asia, aviation, aviation history, bangkok, civil war, family history podcast, grandfather’s vietnam war letters, helicopter pilot, helicopter pilot war stories, huey, legacy of vietnam veterans, letters from vietnam, military, military history, military history podcast, personal vietnam war archive, pleiku, saigon, vc, veteran stories, viet cong, vietnam veteran memoirs, vietnam war, vietnam war diary, vietnam war letters, vietnam war oral history, vietnam war personal accounts, vietnam war photo archive, vinh long, war, war correspondence

In this special episode of Dearest Suzie, we look back on the March 1965 letters from Bill Lowie—a month that marked a profound shift in both his role in Vietnam and the risks he faced. After months of flying troop transports and medevac missions, March was the month Popi officially joined the Cobras, placing him directly in the fight against the Viet Cong for the first time. His letters recount the near-misses of combat operations—from bullets tearing through his helicopter to crash-landing behind enemy lines—all told with the same steady, understated voice he's used since the day he arrived.

Even as the war pressed closer, Bill’s mind stayed tethered to home—sending gifts, making plans for matching jackets with his sons, and imagining the life he would build when he returned. His long-awaited trip to Bangkok offered a rare reprieve from the daily grind of war, a brief window to indulge in beauty and escape, only to return to the uncertainty of what each mission might bring.

March is a month where two versions of Bill Lowie seem to exist at once—the soldier hunting the enemy from the air, and the husband and father carefully folding silk paintings to send home. It’s a testament to the quiet, unseen work of holding on to your humanity in the middle of a war.

Episode 069: 1965-04-01 | The Heat and the Hesitation

April 1st, 2025  |  8 mins 4 secs

1960s war correspondence, army, army history, arvn, asia, aviation, aviation history, bangkok, civil war, family history podcast, grandfather’s vietnam war letters, helicopter pilot, helicopter pilot war stories, huey, legacy of vietnam veterans, letters from vietnam, military, military history, military history podcast, personal vietnam war archive, pleiku, saigon, vc, veteran stories, viet cong, vietnam veteran memoirs, vietnam war, vietnam war diary, vietnam war letters, vietnam war oral history, vietnam war personal accounts, vietnam war photo archive, vinh long, war, war correspondence

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, we follow Popi through one of the most morally complex days of his deployment. Writing on April Fools’ Day, 1965, he begins with heat and headaches, but quickly moves into a harrowing story of hesitation — where instincts, orders, and ethics collide.

After flying over a minefield and narrowly avoiding disaster, Popi and his crew encounter a group of over a hundred unarmed men in an open field. A Vietnamese officer pleads with them to open fire, certain they are Viet Cong. Instead, Popi lands. The men beg for their lives, claiming to be farmers. They’re let go. Later, the Americans find out the truth: they were part of a group that had attacked a nearby outpost hours before.

Episode 068: 1965-03-31 | The Bombing of Saigon

March 31st, 2025  |  5 mins 38 secs

1960s war correspondence, army, army history, arvn, asia, aviation, aviation history, bangkok, civil war, family history podcast, grandfather’s vietnam war letters, helicopter pilot, helicopter pilot war stories, huey, legacy of vietnam veterans, letters from vietnam, military, military history, military history podcast, personal vietnam war archive, pleiku, saigon, vc, veteran stories, viet cong, vietnam veteran memoirs, vietnam war, vietnam war diary, vietnam war letters, vietnam war oral history, vietnam war personal accounts, vietnam war photo archive, vinh long, war, war correspondence

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Popi writes in the wake of the bombing of the American Embassy in Saigon — one of the deadliest attacks against Americans in Vietnam to that point. His letter folds the threat of violence into the rhythms of everyday life, moving between worries about family finances and the sleepless wait for an attack that never came. What’s left unsaid feels just as important as what’s written — a balancing act between reassurance and fear.

Accompanied by a photo which is presumed to depict a square in Saigon, today's episode explores how soldiers carried on in the shadow of uncertainty, holding onto routine even as the ground beneath them threatened to shift.

Episode 067: 1965-03-29 | Bangkok Souvenirs

March 29th, 2025  |  8 mins 41 secs

1960s war correspondence, army, army history, arvn, asia, aviation, aviation history, bangkok, civil war, family history podcast, grandfather’s vietnam war letters, helicopter pilot, helicopter pilot war stories, huey, legacy of vietnam veterans, letters from vietnam, military, military history, military history podcast, personal vietnam war archive, pleiku, saigon, vc, veteran stories, viet cong, vietnam veteran memoirs, vietnam war, vietnam war diary, vietnam war letters, vietnam war oral history, vietnam war personal accounts, vietnam war photo archive, vinh long, war, war correspondence

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Popi returns from a short but meaningful trip to Bangkok, his letter brimming with souvenirs and stories. With just two nights away from Vietnam, he fills his time gathering gifts — delicate silks, bronze dinnerware, and a princess ring — all chosen with Suzie and the boys in mind. But beneath the excitement of shopping and sightseeing, his letter carries the weight of distance, longing, and the quiet strain of trying to hold a family together from half a world away.

Accompanied by a photo of a temple or shrine, today's episode explores the fragile balance between joy and loneliness in the small reprieves of war.