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Linda Mariconda spearheaded a holiday letter-writing campaign from New Jersey students to soldiers serving abroad. To date, she has sent on 25,000 letters.

(John O'Boyle/The Star-Ledger)

POMPTON LAKES — Dear American Hero. Dear Bravo U.S. Hero. Dear Freedom Fighter. Dear Soldier.

Crayoned on construction paper, painstakingly printed on wide-ruled penmanship paper, typed and scrawled, the letters arrive by the dozens, sometimes by the hundreds, all holiday wishes from New Jersey schoolchildren to American forces serving around the globe.

Linda Mariconda of Pompton Lakes decided to spearhead this letter-writing campaign after spotting deploying soldiers loading up trucks at the New Jersey Army National Guard Armory in Riverdale, near her home. “I thought to myself how that must be for them, to just leave their families, their wives, their children, their mothers for six months to two years. Or forever.”

Linda Mariconda of Pompton Lakes says her letter-writing campaign to soldiers will continue after Christmas. Students from more than 150 schools across the state sent holiday wishes to the troops.

In 2008, Mariconda reached out to local schools and netted about 3,500 letters from students. She returned to the campaign this year, launching an all-out offensive, sending letters to school superintendents in every county. The response — 25,000 letters and counting — has overwhelmed Mariconda and her husband, who read through each letter to make sure they are appropriately upbeat before bringing the bundles to Lorrayne Robertson, a family readiness support assistant at the Riverdale armory.

The letters are shipped to bases overseas, although some are given to veterans stateside at battalion holiday parties, and some were sent to injured soldiers at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

A gentle snow falls outside Mariconda’s kitchen and the radio plays music softly in the background as she flips through the letters and vigorously colored cards, pointing out a few that pierced her heart.

“You are a hero,” reads one note. “You are not Superman or Iron Man. You are better. Most of these superheroes know that they will win their battles because of their superpowers. You know that there is a possibility you may not come back. That in itself is a sign of a true hero.”

“I cried a lot of tears,” Mariconda says. “I cried a million tears.”

The notes range from a four-year-old’s handprint to thoughtful letters written by high school seniors. Some brim with patriotism (“The country belongs to us and you’re not letting anyone take it”) while others offers comfort and wise counsel (“I know you may be a little scared but just stay brave”).

And a few are unintentionally bittersweet. “Dear Military Member. Thank you for protecting your country. If you have children, I hope you see them again.”

Holiday wishes penned by a young New Jersey student to a soldier.

As Mariconda straightens a pile of letters and snaps the rubber band back in place, the music is interrupted by a news report that six American soldiers have been killed in helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan. It’s the worst single day loss in Afghanistan in six months. Her fingers squeeze the sheafs of paper, then she silently stuffs them back into the overflowing mail crates.

“I hope you are safe and don’t get hurt,” a fourth-grader writes beneath a crayoned American flag. “I hope you are doing good. I wish you could take a rest. I hope you will be done.”

More than just a token of gratitude, the campaign is a hands-on way to teach citizenship and sacrifice, says Jo Ann Dignazio-Botch, the principal of Harrison’s Lincoln School, where the third-graders wrote and decorated dozens of letters. “This is one way, at their age, that they’re able to be appreciative and give back and show they do care about people, they do recognize there are people who protect us.”

At Passaic Valley Regional High School in Little Falls, English teacher Rosalinda Mulcahy included the letter-writing campaign in a unit on war literature with her seniors. "They really embraced the assignment," Mulcahy says. "They're so compassionate.

They're the same age as some of the soldiers, maybe just a bit younger, but they still view the soldier as the hero and they appreciate the sacrifices the soldier makes and they acknowledge his quest. They acknowledge the hero's quest."

"The holiday season is especially difficult for military members who are unable to spend it with their loved ones," says Brig. Gen. Michael Cunniff, the Adjutant General, New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. "Although nothing can extinguish the pain of being away from family during this time, our troops will find comfort in the children's holiday cards and know that Americans recognize their service and commitment to our nation."

After the initial letter-writing campaign, one soldier wrote back to Mariconda: “Sometimes I wonder what people back home are thinking given this war is lasting longer than planned. And then someone like yourself comes along. Reading your thoughts ... renewed my confidence in the American support for service members. The letters and pictures you sent us did bring a smile to many faces.”

The "Thank You Soldier Program" will be ongoing. Teachers or service organization leaders can send packages of letters to the attention of Linda Mariconda, "Thank You Soldier Letters," c/o St. Mary's Church, 17 Pompton Ave., Pompton Lakes, N.J., 07442. Students should not put their home address on the letters. Do not seal envelopes, as they will all be read to make sure they are appropriate to send.

MORE HOLIDAY COVERAGE:

• New Jersey Ballet's 'Nutcracker' sparkles with holiday cheer and great dancing

• New Jersey's theaters decorate Drumthwacket for the holidays

• Holiday albums — from pop to gospel to classical — to brighten the season

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