December 19, 1966

Dear Lorraine,

Hi! Honey, We flew a lot yesterday bringing troops in from the field for the holidays. I guess they think we are really going to have a Christmas cease-fire. From what I’ve seen the VC don’t seem to follow any special rules. We got the word today that we are going to Camp Lane for about two weeks. I have some packing to do and also make sure the ship is all caught up on maintenance. I guess we will be gone for Christmas. It doesn’t really matter since I’m not home anyway.

I got several letters from you today and I just want you to know how much that means to me. I don’t know how I’m going to make it up to you but when I get home I’ll spend the rest of my life trying. I like the card you sent and have it hanging on my locker with your picture. I was going to say that little things like that mean so much but they are big things to me. I also got a letter from my brother and he said he is thinking about taking a job with NSA at Ft. Mead, MD. It sounds like it will be a good thing for him since Government jobs offer lots of security.

We are having a small party in the hooch tonight. Some of the guys were off today and the PX got a shipment of beer in. The refrigerator in our hooch is full and our next mission is to empty it. I’m going to close now and start unwinding, not sure if we will have access to beer at Camp Lane.

I’ll write again soon and fill you in on what’s going on. I Love You. I Miss You. I Need To Be With You.

Tom
S.W.A.K

Tom Gator 851.