‘Not Everyone Came Back’

So now that she is crying (hopefully not), I guess I have completed my mission successfully, and without any wounded. I hope everyone there is well. And like I have already said, all of your support has been great. Your mail gives me something to look forward to other than drinking hot water and eating stale food.

Mom, good, now old, night blind, sun tanned, espanol speaking, mom. I wish I could be there with you celebrating your birthday, but I can't. I miss you, and think about you and everyone else often. I hope you have a great birthday, and I will be home soon to buy you that dinner I promised.
Love
Andy

Stern, 24, of Germantown, Tenn., was killed Sept. 16, 2004, in Anbar province.

Army 1st Lt. Jacob N. Fritz
January 2007

To Friends and Family,
I deployed to Iraq back in October of 2006. I made the trip from Alaska to Kuwait where I waited and trained in 110-degree weather for two weeks before finally flying into Baghdad International Airport. It has been quite the experience so far, as I'm definitely not doing the job that I thought I would be doing.