| Nam Phong,
Thailand |
| November 29, 1972 |
| Dear Mom & Dad, |
| Sorry to be so long about
writing, but I've been pretty busy lately. I've been flying alot.
I'll probably have more flight hours than anyone else in the
squadron this month.
It looks like the peace talks
fell through. We were afraid that would happen.
I should have more than enough
money to completely pay for the car now, but I'd like to hold
off. If the car isn't paid off that's about $1500 worth of extra
life insurance because if anything happens to me the car is paid
for, free and clear.
Well, I'm off to bed. Kiss
Karoni for me.
|
Love,
Ron |
| Nam Phong,
Thailand |
| December 4, 1972 |
| Dear Mom & Dad, |
| I flew my 42nd mission last
night. I had enough points for my third air medal after number
forty. I'm hoping the peace talks are fruitful this time. I'd
like to think that I've been shot at for the last time.
The weather here is getting
cool. It gets down to sixty at night which is pretty cold when
you're sleeping in a tent and don't have but one
blanket.
I got a letter from Don saying
you both were real proud of Larry's new hairstyle. I bet it's not
as short as mine.
There's a good chance we're
going to get the Bob Hope Christmas Show here. An advance team
came through yesterday. They said that since this was the most
humble American base in the world, he would probably come
here.
I've got duty so I'd better
close and see what's going on. Kiss Karoni for me.
|
Love,
Ron |
| Nam Phong,
Thailand |
| December 17, 1972 |
| Dear Mom & Dad, |
| I just got back from Okinawa
where I took a pressure chamber refresher course. I really had a
nice time. Three old Aggie buddies were there, and that made it
great. Besides, it was nice to enjoy good food and clean sheets
for a change.
I found out today that the
squadron I was in at Cherry point lost an airplane about a week
ago. Neither the pilot nor the bombardier/navigator got out.I
knew them both. They were both great guys.
Guess I'd better close. Give
Karoni a kiss for me.
|
Love,
Ron |
| Nam Phong,
Thailand |
| December 20, 1972 |
| Dear Mom & Dad, |
| Hi. I hope this letter finds
you both doing well. I'm afraid Kissinger's "Peace is at hand"
statement may prove to be the joke of the decade.
At least Nixon is fighting the
war the way it should be fought now. For the past eight years,
the B-52 crews have been getting most of the glory, but haven't
had to take the chances the rest of us have taken. Now they are
earning those medals they have been wearing. I'm glad Charlie
Parada (an Aggie buddy) has gone back to the states.
I was the group operations duty
officer the night we started bombing north of the 20th parallel
again. A shot-up B-52 was making an emergency landing here, but
crashed thirteen miles short of the field. All seven of the crew
ejected safely and were picked up. We had another shot-up B-52
land her last night. They've lost five B-52's in two
days.
The Bob Hope Show is going to
be here the 23rd. Christmas is going to be just another day this
year. I've got the group duty from midnight Christmas eve until
noon on Christmas day.
Guess I'd better close. Have a
Merry Christmas, and kiss Karoni for me.
|
Love,
Ron |
| Nam Phong,
Thailand |
| December 25, 1972 |
| Dear Mom and Dad, |
| Merry Christmas. It just
turned Christmas about five minutes ago. I've got group
operations duty from now until noon.
The Bob Hope Show was here the
day before yesterday. I was one of the escorts so I met most of
the entertainers and got to go to the reception. The show will be
on t.v. the 17th of January if you want to see what this place
looks like.
I saw the last five minutes of
the playoff game between Dallas and the Forty-niners. After
engineering that victory, don't you think Roger Staubach deserves
to start next week ?
The prospects for peace are
pretty slim now. My morale is alot higher now, knowing that the
war is going to go on for a while, than it was when it looked
like it could end the next day. It was kind of hard to make
yourself want to fly today when there was a chance the war could
be over the next day.
I flew number forty-six on
Christmas eve. I shouldn't have any trouble getting a hundred
missions before this thing is over.
I hope you all have a nice time
today. Christmas is going to be just another work day for me, but
I'll have one next year.
Give Karoni a kiss for
me.
|
Love,
Ron |
|