Let me start off by saying, thank you for your service. Chances are this is not the first time you received a letter from someone and it won’t be the last. Honestly, I could just end things there, but why would I do that when someone who’s seen things not many are willing to put themselves through, has so many interesting tales to tell? I’m writing this to serve some sort of purpose, and if it can’t be attained (or even lacks a purpose), then what’s the point?

I live in a small, but well-adjusted village with big aspirations ahead of me. The inspiration came from a few things, one is that I wanted to challenge myself to get comfortable with getting thoughts onto a written form and I thought this was a perfect way to go about this. Two is that I have a few connections with people that served in military services, such as my eldest brother at one point and meeting up with a few World War II veterans.

Now with that said, I have vague memories of both of these connections, so let’s change that. First off, was there any reason or any deeper meaning for your service, and if after going through it all, has your perspective on the world changed since? Whenever I think of patriotism, “pride, influence and will” tend to be the three main components of this; do any of these phrases resonate with you or your beliefs? These are all generalizations, but this is going to someone I don’t know personally, so that’s what I’m working with.

So to conclude, I hope we’ve both gotten something out of this letter today. It’s something I’m sure you’ve done with many others, so I have no worries on that front. Hell, with so many interesting tales to tell on the frontlines, it would be interesting to get something from your perspective, even after you’ve served your duty. I don’t know how to end this letter, but I hope this will satisfy that purpose all the same.