ANDERSON, Ind. — “Dear Larry: Received your letter and am very glad to hear from you. We were beginning to think you forgot about us. As you know, we all miss you around here. I even miss you teasing the kids and Schmulick ... Love, Your Mom and Dad” — (Jan. 17, 1968)

Larry Rudolf kept every letter ever sent to him in the 1960s while he was away at basic training and the Vietnam War.

Years later, his sons, Jeff, 28, and Cory,25, found a shoebox filled with those very letters.

“Dad died like 11 years ago. We had all of his stuff and knew about the letters,” said Cory Rudolf, 25. “I was with my brother and friends, and we decided to read the letters.”

The letters, mostly from Larry’s immediate family, painted a picture of a simpler time and life.

“The letters are interesting,” Tresa Hale, Cory and Jeff’s aunt, said. “I was 9 years old when writing him. It was just simple things happening here. Some of the things we wrote about were just silly.”

Hale, of Fort Wayne, said the letters reminded her of the recent television shows “China Beach” and “The Wonder Years.”

“Back in those days, we sat down and had family dinners,” she said. “Not a night went by when Mom would get upset or would get up and cry when she looked at Larry’s seat at the table.”

It wasn’t uncommon for Larry’s letters from Hale to be filled with packets of Kool-Aid and sticks of gum. He often teased her because she was the baby sister, but she still looked up to the young man she thought was so handsome.

“I loved him,” she said. “He looked like Elvis Presley to me.”

The simplicity of the words that filled the letters caught Cory and Jeff’s attention. If they enjoyed reading the letters, why wouldn’t others?

“Dear Larry: Just a few lines to let you know that I am thinking of you and hoping you are OK. “Today we have some snow on the ground and the temperature is about 26° outside.

“We had a[n] early supper tonight for Dad has to go to work at the Club. He traded his Wednesday night for tonight because he got sectional tickets and he is going to the game tomorrow night and taking Karl with him. Madison Heights is playing Frankton. We’ll let you know how the game turns out ... Love Mom” — (Feb. 20, 1968)

On June 22, 2010, the website, Letters to Larry, went live. It was created by the brothers to honor their father’s life and memory. It provides a unique look into the Rudolf family and life during the Vietnam War era.

“We try to post two letters a week and photos,” Cory said. “We post on Sunday and Friday. The letters are to him but we are trying to find letters from him.”

Larry Rudolf was born Dec. 14, 1947, in Anderson where he lived his entire life. In 1967, he graduated from Anderson High School and enlisted in the Army where he served as a specialist 5th class in the 9th Infantry Division during the Vietnam War.

An avid bodybuilder, Larry won the Mr. Indiana Physique award in 1979. He died Feb. 17, 2000, after a sudden illness.

A majority of his family and friends still reside in and around Madison County. His sons live in the Dayton, Ohio, area.

“Even though my brother passed away, I feel like they’re my sons,” said Carol Fite, Cory and Jeff’s aunt. “I give their mom a lot of credit. We still see her even though she and Larry divorced. The boys were very young.”

Fite, who lives in Middletown, said the letters evoke more than memories.

“It’s amazing, the trivia, like going to the Aqua Gardens by Shadyside Lake,” Fite said. “There’s lots and lots of trivia about Anderson.”

She was just starting high school, at a time when there where three in Anderson, when Fite wrote to Larry.

Her letters were filled with what she called the trivial little things of day-to-day life.

“We wrote about our simpler lives when his had to be so different over there,” she said. “I really don’t think families are as close a unit now.”

Fite said one of the letters written by her mother on the website described a time when women in the family chipped in to buy a hair dryer.

“It wasn’t the one of today but the kind that went over your head,” Fite said.

“Dear Larry: Well, here it is Sunday and as yet we haven’t been to church. Everyone is still asleep, so I thought I would sip on some tea and write you a few lines.

“After a couple weeks of hot and steamy weather, we finally got some cool air this morning. The temperature is in the 60s. I imagine by the time you get this letter it will be hot again. How is the weather where you are at? Are you still at Phu Bai? Love, Mom” — (July 28, 1968)

As the reserve of letters begins to dwindle, about two-thirds have been placed online, the brothers look for other items to post including old photos, newspaper clippings and cards.

“Right now we only post letters from the family just because we don’t want anyone to be angry,” Cory said. “If we do post a letter, we cross out the last name.”

The website has Larry’s family searching attics, closets and basements for more letters and photos. Cory said his father had numerous trophies and he would like to include photos of them on the website.

“I still have some letters,” Fite said, “It’s amazing. They had to mean so much to him. I wonder how many times he took them out of the envelope and read them.”

Letters to Larry’s readership grows as family and friends pass the word along.

“They think it’s great,” Cory said. “The Internet is great. We’re not wanting global attention, just a place to keep the letters if they get lost.”

Fite said it is rewarding that Larry Rudolf’s legacy would continue to live on and his sons will continue to get to know their father and family.

“Larry: Hi! This is Friday afternoon about 5:22 P.M. and I’m sitting under the dryer getting my hair dry so I thought I’d write to you.

“Yesterday, down at Barb’s house, I wrote you a letter and Barb also dropped you a few lines, but it’s hard telling when that letter will get sent out.

“I met a couple guys you know at Aqua Gardens these past few days. They are Dave I—– and Bob C—–. Bob said you called him “BC Beer Drinker.” Everybody calls him BC. He is really nice.

“Oh, guess who is getting married!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Bobbie B—–. Bet you never thought she’d get married, did ya? Love Ya! Carol” — (Aug. 23, 1968)

Contact April Abernathy: 640-4861, april.abernathy@heraldbulletin.com.