'If You're Reading This …'
Combat troops live every day with the specter of their mortality. Usually, they ignore it and do their jobs. But at some point, heading for a war zone or shaken by a close call, many of them write letters to be read only if they don't make it home alive. They want to convey the things that matter to the people they love most, putting their hopes and thanks and blessings on paper. Each of the letters on the following pages was left behind by an American who gave his life in Iraq.
