Sacrifice for a Friend

Marine Lance Cpl. Sean P. Maher
Feb. 2, 2005

Dear Mom & Dad,
Hello. I haven't written in a while. I have been busy. But there is good news. I only have 2 weeks left in country, unless we get extended again. But we shouldn't. There are set dates for everything. Combat operations for 1/3 stop tomorrow (big smily face). Tomorrow we go to "AL ASAD" US Military air base. We'll stay there until the 15th then head back to Camp Fallujah to pick up the marines we left there. So by the 18th or 19th I should be in Kuwait and I should be back in hawaii around May 9th. So I'll probably be home (Chicago) around June. So maybe I take 'leave' and stay on island cause you all will be there or maybe you can delay your visit a month. Cause I really want to see everyone back home. I don't know exactly when I'll get leave.

Maher, 19, of Grayslake, Ill., was at the wheel of a Humvee when he drove into an ambush in the Anbar province town of Hit, near Fallujah, on Feb. 2, 2005. This unfinished letter was found in his notebook. According to his fellow Marines and the mother of his best friend, Maher volunteered to take a second shift in place of his best friend as a birthday present.

Marine Lance Cpl. Karl R. Linn
Dec. 17, 2004

To: Richard Linn (father)
Subject: Re: socks
I don't really have problems with blisters (as long as I'm not using the crap hot-weather boots, which I opted not to bring), so one pair of socks is the same as any other as far as I'm concerned.  The thorlos would probably be great for long night patrols in cold weather (I have pictures of frost from one morning we were out in the wasteland; there was ice forming on the machine gun), so send those; however, cheap throw away socks would be equally useful.  What I really need is a huge quantity of socks; laundry is kind of iffy here at the dam, so I need a huge supply that can last a few weeks and then the whole batch can be washed at once.  I can wear the same pair of socks multiple days in the row without fear of infection, since my boots stay pretty dry; however, the smell is horrid when I take the boots off at the end of the day, so having a pair of socks for each day or 2 would probably make the room smell less butt-like.

Oh by the way, the box you sent got here yesterday, I like the goodies.  Still lacking in skittles and starburst and of course gummi's over here, but I trust that will be fixed shortly.  Nice of you to send utensils over... sometimes its like we have this food and nothing to eat it with.  As for the ramen noodles, I did find a cheap plastic GE electric kettle in perfect working order when we moved into the dam, so I have a source of boiling-hot potable water... however, there are no bowls here, so maybe next time consider sending the noodles in cup form.  The noodles are handy though cuz they don't serve lunch here, so they sure beat MRE's at times.

Speaking of boxes, did my 2 from california ever show up??  Though most of it is my stuff, somewhere in there are some blue star banner pins for you guys.

Linn, 20, of Midlothian, Va., died Jan. 26, 2005, from wounds received from a rocket-propelled grenade during an attack on his convoy in Haqlaniyah.

Marine Lance Cpl. Andrew "Andy" G. Patten
September 2005 (written to his best friend's mother)