It was the summer of 1967, and young men by the thousands were being sent to the hot, steamy killing fields of Vietnam. Many took DeDe Lind with them.
DeDe was 18, a freckle-faced teen-ager with a girl's face and a woman's body when she was the August 1967 Playboy centerfold. Her fold-out photo became a mainstay in soldiers' tents and barracks. The nearly 2,000 letters she received ranks her among the most popular Playmates of all time. DeDe personally answered every letter.
``I felt honored that they took the time to write,'' she says.
It's one of the reasons she still has legions of followers more than three decades later.
Since her first Playboy appearance, DeDe has been featured in numerous magazines, commercials, TV shows, several movies and done promotional work for Playboy. She was included in the magazine's "100 Sexiest Women of the 20th Century."
With the same measurements and contagious smile from 1967, DeDe is still modeling and still posing nude. From her home in Boca Raton, she has built a mail-order and modeling business with bookings throughout the country.
``I like to meet my fans in person, and I've become friends with many of them,'' she says.
She keeps in shape by watching what she eats and by exercising daily: roller blading, swimming and running through the surf.
``I still run into people who tell me I am their favorite Playmate," DeDe says. "It's nice to know you're still liked, still popular, still their favorite.
