There Isn't Much Going On Over Here

SGT Marvin Dale Miller to his mother, 22 May 1971. Written approximately 32 days after the April 20 contact north of FSB Fanning and 28 days after the Huey crash at FSB Fontaine. The undated late-April pencil letter ("Tell Me When You Get Your Garden Plowed," dated by content to circa 26–28 April) now appears to be the first surviving letter after those events; this is the next.

22 May 71

Dear Mom,

Well I hope everything's OK back home. There isn't much happening over here but I thought I'd write and let you know things are OK with me.

It's looks like a big rain storm is brewing. It's getting very dark. The rainy season hasn't hit full force yet though. How's the weather back home? Your garden should be well on the way.

So Mary Ellen is going to have a baby huh? Well she certainly did get a late start. I hope everything goes tip top for her.

School should be just about over for the little ones. I hope they all pass.

Are Buss and Dan working steady? I hope I can find a good job when I get back.

Well I wish there was more I could say but there isn't much going on over here.

Bye, Bye, Love Marv

Transcription Notes

• Page 1 line 7: "It's looks like" — Marvin wrote "It's" then continued with "looks," a minor natural slip in handwriting.
• Page 1, Mary Ellen paragraph: the word before "her" at the end of "tip top for [word] her" — appears to be a crossed-out word, possibly "for" written twice. Read as "tip top for her."
• "Buss" — likely a family nickname; identity to be confirmed.
• "Dan" — likely a family member or close friend; identity to be confirmed.
• All other text is clearly legible with no ambiguity.

Archivist Notes

Date context: May 22, 1971 places this letter approximately 32 days after the two most significant events of Marvin's tour — the April 20 contact north of FSB Fanning (Cardwell, Drinkard, Hall, and Sargent killed; Dillon and others severely wounded) and the April 24 Huey crash at FSB Fontaine (Fanning, Jeffries, and Colburn killed, with Marvin among the first on scene).

This is believed to be the first letter Marvin wrote home following the April 20 contact. The 32-day gap in correspondence is consistent with family recollection and anecdotal accounts from unit members that Delta Company was sent to the rear not long after the April 20 engagement — a common practice following heavy contact, allowing the company to regroup, refit, receive replacements, and recover.

Tone and psychological context: This letter contains no reference to the April 20 contact, the Huey crash, the deaths of six men over four days, or any military activity whatsoever. "There isn't much happening over here" and "there isn't much going on over here" are the only descriptions of his situation in Vietnam — and notably, he uses almost the same phrase twice, opening and closing with it.

This double reassurance is worth reading carefully. He doesn't apologize for not writing. He doesn't explain a gap. He simply tells his mother twice that nothing is happening. For a man who had just experienced the worst days of his tour, this reads less like a factual report and more like an act of deliberate protection — of his mother, and possibly of himself. The focus on entirely domestic concerns (Mary Ellen's pregnancy, his mother's garden, the children finishing school, whether Buss and Dan have steady work) suggests an intentional reach toward normalcy and home.

This is consistent with how many Vietnam veterans communicated with family — carefully curating what they shared to avoid causing fear, and compartmentalizing their combat experience in a way that, for some, became permanent. The silence about April 20 in this letter may be the first instance of a silence that lasted the rest of his life.

People named:

• Mary Ellen — Mary Ellen (Miller) Cessna, Marvin's sister. She was pregnant at the time of this letter with her son Sam, confirmed by family based on the ages of her children. Marvin's comment that "she certainly did get a late start" reflects Mary Ellen's age at the time of the pregnancy.
• "Buss" — Don Miller, Marvin's oldest brother. "Buss" is a family nickname.
• Dan — Daniel Miller, Marvin's older brother, closest to Marvin in age. Dan completed military service in West Germany in early 1970, finishing around the time Marvin entered basic training at Fort Dix. Marvin asking whether Dan is "working steady" suggests Dan was still finding his footing in civilian life, consistent with having separated from service only about a year prior.
• "the little ones" — the younger children in the extended Miller family finishing the school year in late May 1971. Likely includes some combination of Julie (daughter of Judy Miller), Jim (son of Don "Buss" Miller), and Paul and Tricia (children of Pat Miller).

Weather reference: "The rainy season hasn't hit full force yet though" — Vietnam's southwest monsoon typically arrives in the south in May–June. This is consistent with Long Khanh Province in late May 1971.

Cross-references:

• Unit History: April 20, 1971 — contact north of FSB Fanning (32 days prior to this letter)
• Unit History: April 24, 1971 — Huey crash at FSB Fontaine (28 days prior)
• MDM-LETTER-19710824 — next letter in sequence (3-month gap)