Dearest Suzie

In this episode, Popi writes on a sweltering day in Vinh Long, where the only mission was beating the heat. With no combat updates or news from the front, today’s letter slows down, offering a glimpse of life in between the action, where even the monkeys are desperate for relief. From Easter reflections to tales of Charlie and Doll’s makeshift swimming pool, Popi captures a rare moment of levity....

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Popi writes on April 23, 1965 after finally receiving a long-awaited letter from home. He reflects on family updates, a recent alert mission that came too late, and yet another upcoming awards ceremony — this one to add four oak leaf clusters to his Air Medal. In the same week, American military leaders in Honolulu approved a shift in Vietnam strategy — what came...

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Popi writes on April 21, 1965, during a lull in operations. The letter itself is quiet — just a few notes about office renovations, a short range trip, and his ongoing frustration with the mail system. Still, even in a slow week, he finds ways to stay connected to home. He ends the letter with a simple dream: when he returns, he wants to pack up the family, grab a...

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Popi returns from two nights of R and R in Saigon and slips into an easy rhythm of gossip and small comforts. There are no firefights in this letter. Instead we get pizza in the city, an afternoon at the Saigon Zoo, and late‑night stories with old friends like Al Guthrie and Fox. He even chuckles at the news that a new helicopter company packed...

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Popi’s letter from April 17, 1965 takes us to a medal ceremony in Bạc Liêu, where he receives the South Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. The moment should feel triumphant, yet his tone is subdued. He stands in the heat, listens while his citation is read in Vietnamese, and has a wreath placed around his neck by young women in tradi...

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, al...

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,...

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...

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...

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 platoo...

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 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 t...

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...

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 a...

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 weig...

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Popi marks a quiet but significant milestone — the halfway point of his tour. Six months down, six to go. His letter from March 23, 1965, touches on the routines of life at Vinh Long — training flights, troop lifts, and the growing menagerie of animals that fill the compound. But even in the stillness, the war lingers beneath the surface — in the language he uses,...

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, the letter itself is short — just a few lines about quiet days, card games, and Popi's plans to bring Charlie the monkey home. But it’s the stories that surround this letter — the ones passed down through generations — that offer a glimpse into the weight of what went unsaid. Two stories have survived about Popi’s time with the Cobras: one darkly funny, the other...

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, the war finally closes in as Popi recounts two harrowing days behind enemy lines. Under steady fire from the Viet Cong, his helicopter is hit three separate times — the final round forcing him to crash-land on an island controlled by the very enemy he'd been fighting. Yet even in the face of danger, Popi’s letter carries the same measured, almost lighthearted tone...

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Popi writes from a place caught between two worlds — the one he’s living in and the one he’s dreaming of returning to. As he recovers from reinjuring his ankle, he fills his letter with plans for the future: silk paintings to send to family, matching jackets for him and his boys, and small gestures that bridge the distance between Vietnam and home. Beneath these h...

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Bill writes home with news of his first injury in Vietnam—but the story isn’t quite what you might expect. What starts as a dramatic tale of being shot down by the Viet Cong quickly turns into a humorous account of how he actually sprained his ankle—trying to rescue his pet monkey, Charlie, from tangled power lines. The letter highlights Popi’s signature storytell...

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Bill writes about receiving his birthday present from home, his first troop lift mission since joining the Cobra platoon, and the strange comfort of listening to Radio Peking's propaganda broadcasts. His amusement at the hostile messages offers a glimpse into how soldiers coped with the psychological pressures of war. Accompanied by a powerful photo of a medevac h...

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Popi writes to Suzie about the black cloud of bad luck that seems to be following him through one mishap after another — from wrecked helicopters to accidentally jettisoned rockets. What starts as a humorous letter full of self-deprecating stories reveals how quickly the war is forcing him to take on new responsibilities. After only two days in the Cobra platoon,...

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Popi writes one of his most personal letters yet—grappling with family tensions, money troubles, and the loneliness of separation. While training for combat half a world away, he's still trying to mediate disagreements between Suzie and his parents, all while worrying about whether his family has enough to get by. The letter gives us a rare window into the everyda...

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Popi writes as he begins settling into his new role in the Cobra platoon—training with machine guns and rockets, breaking the monotony with a U.S.O. show, and counting down the long stretch of days still ahead. But beneath the surface of his daily routines, the war itself was starting to shift. While Popi learned the weapons systems of his armed Huey, policymakers...

In this episode of Dearest Suzie, Popi writes from the edge of exhaustion—reflecting on a terrible day for the Cobras. Two helicopters lost. Four men killed. Though he doesn't linger on the tragedy, the weight of it lingers between the lines. Even as he processes the loss of close friends, he holds fast to small routines—checking on the pet monkeys, asking after the boys, and reaching across the d...