Friday, April 19, 1968

April 19, 1968

Tonkin Gulf

Dear Mother & Dad,

This morning I got your letter of April 12th. The mail helo is now coming in the morning so its good to start off the day with mail from home.

You should have got the tape by now that Bill and I made in Da Nang. We were glad to see one another and I was surprized he was able to make it. You know we have been pretty fortunate to see each other since we went into the service and I guess this is no exception even though we are over 12,000 miles from home.

Just one year ago I graduated from school at Great Lakes. The time has really went fast and it seems like only yesterday.

I can't imagine why Grandma & Grandpa weren't able to play the tape I sent them on their recorder. I don't remember what speed it was on but it should have been compatiable to be used on theirs. It was done on a mono recorder. Let me know what speeds they can use and I'll send the right speed next time.

I won't be able to mail you any recordings until you send me one. I used my last cartridge for the message from Bill to. So I hope to hear from you once again soon.

The routine up here hasn't changed a bit. The weather is still as bad as it use to be. But I do believe it has warmed up a little since our last time up here.

About the records Connie bought back. I think thats all there was. Bill didn't have a case of 45's and I think the ones he did have are with his stuff. From what Bill tells me she has started writing to him again now that the wedding is off.

I found the newspaper clippings interesting. I suppose it was quite a shock back there about Dr. King. The ships in the fleet flew the flag at half-mast for about five days.

On the first of May I will be working with the E.T.'s (electronic technicians) on maintence and troubleshooting. This is something I have always wanted to do and comes as a surprize to me. Actually we have more E.T.'s than we need even though two were discharged our last time in Subic Bay, so I guess it won't hurt anyone for me to be with them for the rest of the time over here.

I am waiting for one more box of slides before I send my slides on to you. I will make a tape to go with them so you'll know whats going on.

If you noticed any static like sound in the tape Bill and I sent it was some interference from one of the radars. Its pretty hard to find an ideal place to record here on the ship. But I think it didn't hurt the tape too much.

Well, thats about all for now. I hope you enjoyed our tape and found it interesting. So long for now.

Your son,

Mike