‘Not Everyone Came Back’

May 29, 2005

… not everyone came back from our last op in haditha- once again, and everyone is getting very pissed off at higher for sending us on such bull missions- 3/25 kilo has absolutely no clue what they're doing- i'm not boasting by any means- but 3/25 lima is the hardest working, most strung out, most veteran company in iraq at this point in time- i'll never complain about a thing for the rest of my life, and i can only pray for restraint when i have to hear other people complain

… dad- i'm glad we got to talk on the phone also- it was definitely a lift for me as well. we've been doing alot of retarded day long ops of late, mostly a 3-6 click hump out from the dam, some clearing and rounding up, then humping back- oh yea, in the middle of the day. it's been getting up into the 130's lately- but no worries, we stay well hydrated and tough, so it's all good, our humps out and in are usually in the early morning and late night anyways- so at least the toughest parts aren't during the day. what you couldn't roger up to on the phone was i was hoping you might be able to get a couple of indice composites from the last year or two of the dow, s&p and nasdaq- from what i've heard, things have been looking pretty bearish for a while, and around the time i get back the market might turn bull again- but who knows- i'm almost done with that 24 essential lessons book- and i like it alot more than the other hardback one, it seems to read a lot quicker- but yea! - i'm just interested in getting a look at where the market might be heading for the between when i get home and get out of school (4yrs), and even after i get out of the corps- (7yrs)- …  if you could, try and get mom to set up some dental appointments for me in early october, as close together as she can get them- i REALLY need to get my teeth in the word on coming home is this- the deadline for us to be back in the states is the 24th of sept, and back home in the last few days of the month- before this we were getting word that i'd be home before your birthday.....sorry
chris

Dyer, 19, of Cincinnati, was killed Aug. 3, 2005, in Haditha.

Marine 1st Lt. Andrew K. Stern
September 2004 (letter read aloud at his mother's surprise 50th birthday party)

Mom, friends of mom, citizens of our great country, Toonses the cat, and anyone else who might want to listen to some ramblings from a half dehydrated, profusely sweating, bug bitten, smelling like old cheese Marine in Iraq.