What does it mean to be a patriot today? LETTERS HOME puts the soldier experience front and center by bringing to life actual letters written home during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The production is inspired by the New York Times Op-Ed Article “The Things They Wrote” and the subsequent HBO documentary Last Letters Home. Without politicizing, the play paints a powerful portrait of the soldier experience in the war. These letters were written under the most difficult of circumstances; the disorientation of training, deployment, separation from family and loved ones and combat, and occupation duties in Afghanistan and Iraq. One theme unites their diverse voices; the belief that the person standing beside you is more important than you are. A portion of the proceeds from this performance will go to support Lest We Forget. Sponsored by Wolverine Mutual Insurance Co., Holiday Inn Express – St. Joseph, and News Talk 94.9 WSJM.