January 3, 1991
Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia
Dear Lynda:
Hi baby! How are you? I’m finally here in “Saudee Raybee.”
The flight here was the absolute worst.
We left Cherry Point, North Carolina at about 10am New Year’s Day on a Boeing 747. We flew over the ocean to Nova Scotia, over London, England and France, and finally landed in Brussels, Belgium.
I couldn’t see anything from the plane because I had an aisle seat, and because it was dark or cloudy. We never even got off the plane in Brussels while they refueled. The takeoff from Brussels was pretty scary. It was rainy and very windy…pretty much a thunderstorm. The plane was getting thrown around like a rag doll.
We eventually landed in Saudi Arabia at 10am yesterday (local time).
This country is a real armpit. There’s nothing here, and it’s windy and cold. The chow sucks, and there’s long lines for everything. But, it could be worse.
Right now we’re sleeping in real beds in real buildings with running water. The water from the sinks and showers is not drinkable, but from the water fountains it is.
They’re saying that we’re going to move closer to the front pretty soon, but right now we’re about 150 miles from it. We’re supposed to hook up with the French Foreign Legion, the British Royal Marines, and the Saudi Army when we move up. I’m kinda looking forward to that because it should be interesting to work with soldiers from other countries.
I hope you had a Happy New Year. I heard you’ve been having some flooding back home. I hope all is well.
The place we’re staying now is OK. It’s a camp that was built for the oil field workers. There are pipelines and refineries all over.
The highways here are a lot like home, but all of the sudden, they just end and turn into one-lane dirt roads!
The security around the camp is very good. They’ve got Marines patrolling and in sandbagged bunkers with real bullets! I guess Beirut taught us something after all! They said that they found some rag head going through the trash looking for return addresses on envelopes…supposedly so terrorists could write back to “Mommy” and tell her lies and try to freak people out.
So…don’t put return addresses on the mail you send to me. Also, don’t put anything about the 2nd Marine Division on letters or other mail either.
They also told us they nabbed another rag head running around on a bike with a pistol. They called him a terrorist, but I don’t know…
You gotta love the rumors floating around here now. They say we’ll be out of here by April because that’s when a bunch of Islamic holidays are. I really don’t believe it. The Saudis may want us out of here for their holidays, but not if there’s a war going on.
I really glad you were able to come down for Christmas. I wish it could have been better for us, but for me it was almost like a second honeymoon. I was also glad when you went back home, because I felt that with you in town I could not concentrate on the job at hand. I think that I have to try to keep from worrying about you too much. I hope you understand.
Our first Christmas and our feast at Lejeune. All the restaurants were closed or awash in Jarheads. Bologna, M&Ms, chips, beer, and soda...but we were together!
If you can, send me some smokes, Folgers Coffee Singles, and chow and candy of any kind. Don’t send a ton of the stuff. Whatever…
Let me know if you’re getting my Direct Deposit money.
You can pass this letter on to who ever you want. I don’t know how much time I’ll have to write.
I love you very much, Lynda. I pledge my love to you forever.
When I get home we’ll take a vacation, buy a truck, and start a family…not necessarily in that order!
See you later!
Love,
Paul
Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia
Dear Lynda:
Hi baby! How are you? I’m finally here in “Saudee Raybee.”
The flight here was the absolute worst.
We left Cherry Point, North Carolina at about 10am New Year’s Day on a Boeing 747. We flew over the ocean to Nova Scotia, over London, England and France, and finally landed in Brussels, Belgium.
I couldn’t see anything from the plane because I had an aisle seat, and because it was dark or cloudy. We never even got off the plane in Brussels while they refueled. The takeoff from Brussels was pretty scary. It was rainy and very windy…pretty much a thunderstorm. The plane was getting thrown around like a rag doll.
We eventually landed in Saudi Arabia at 10am yesterday (local time).
This country is a real armpit. There’s nothing here, and it’s windy and cold. The chow sucks, and there’s long lines for everything. But, it could be worse.
Right now we’re sleeping in real beds in real buildings with running water. The water from the sinks and showers is not drinkable, but from the water fountains it is.
They’re saying that we’re going to move closer to the front pretty soon, but right now we’re about 150 miles from it. We’re supposed to hook up with the French Foreign Legion, the British Royal Marines, and the Saudi Army when we move up. I’m kinda looking forward to that because it should be interesting to work with soldiers from other countries.
I hope you had a Happy New Year. I heard you’ve been having some flooding back home. I hope all is well.
The place we’re staying now is OK. It’s a camp that was built for the oil field workers. There are pipelines and refineries all over.
The highways here are a lot like home, but all of the sudden, they just end and turn into one-lane dirt roads!
The security around the camp is very good. They’ve got Marines patrolling and in sandbagged bunkers with real bullets! I guess Beirut taught us something after all! They said that they found some rag head going through the trash looking for return addresses on envelopes…supposedly so terrorists could write back to “Mommy” and tell her lies and try to freak people out.
So…don’t put return addresses on the mail you send to me. Also, don’t put anything about the 2nd Marine Division on letters or other mail either.
They also told us they nabbed another rag head running around on a bike with a pistol. They called him a terrorist, but I don’t know…
You gotta love the rumors floating around here now. They say we’ll be out of here by April because that’s when a bunch of Islamic holidays are. I really don’t believe it. The Saudis may want us out of here for their holidays, but not if there’s a war going on.
I really glad you were able to come down for Christmas. I wish it could have been better for us, but for me it was almost like a second honeymoon. I was also glad when you went back home, because I felt that with you in town I could not concentrate on the job at hand. I think that I have to try to keep from worrying about you too much. I hope you understand.
Our first Christmas and our feast at Lejeune. All the restaurants were closed or awash in Jarheads. Bologna, M&Ms, chips, beer, and soda...but we were together!If you can, send me some smokes, Folgers Coffee Singles, and chow and candy of any kind. Don’t send a ton of the stuff. Whatever…
Let me know if you’re getting my Direct Deposit money.
You can pass this letter on to who ever you want. I don’t know how much time I’ll have to write.
I love you very much, Lynda. I pledge my love to you forever.
When I get home we’ll take a vacation, buy a truck, and start a family…not necessarily in that order!
See you later!
Love,
Paul
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