Letters from a TwoFront War is a collaborative effort between the Military Times newspapers and USA WEEKEND.

The recipients of these letters, men and women in uniform deployed in the war on terrorism, or family members and friends back home, are seeing these letters for the first time.

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John Kruse is a former Army officer whose nephew, Hospitalman Chris Reider, is aboard the amphibious assault ship Pelelieu with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit. John’s wife, Michelle, is sister to Chris’s father, Greg Reider, a former Marine gunnery sergeant and Vietnam veteran. Chris, who has been in the Navy about a year and a half, is headed home to San Diego with the 15th MEU after duty in Afghanistan.

Dear Chris,

I just wanted you to know how proud I am of you and how much I appreciate your service to our country in this time of trouble. Be careful out there, as careful as you can be. Take care of those Marines you are entrusted to protect.

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Maj. David H. Carstens of the 202nd Military Intelligence Battalion, Fort Gordon, Ga., writes from Kandahar, Afghanistan, to his family back home.

Dear Miki and Mom,

You are foremost on my mind. We are all working tirelessly to complete our mission and get home safely. You would truly be proud of the young men and women who serve with me. They are the best our society has to offer. Intelligent, motivated and unified in spirit … there is no one with whom I’d rather serve in combat.

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