What soldiers’ faces look like before, during, and after the war? You can see slight, but undeniable changes just by looking at their portraits.

Justin Rollins became a soldier in 2006. He was deployed to Iraq with the 82nd Airborne. He was killed in spring 2007. But he emailed photographs of him playing with a puppy to his girlfriend the night before his death. Justin’s family decided they wanted to have that puppy that Justin held. The dog was found and sent to The Rollins. It traveled from Iraq, Bahrain, Brussels and New York before landing in New Hampshire. The little pet is named Hero in memory of the dead soldier.

This letter was left by a soldier for his young daughter. He died in Afghanistan.

It seems that our world is impossible without wars. Soldiers head off to serve leaving their families and friends behind. They can only pray and hope that their second halves will come back home, safe and alive. These photographs show soldier’s emotions at the moment of a farewell and at the moment of a coming home.

Brian Eisch is a Staff Sergeant in the Army who has two sons, Joey and Isaac. Brian had to go to Afghanistan to fight in the war. Because the two boy’s mother isn’t around, when Brian deployed for a year the two boys left their home in upstate New York and went to live with their uncle in Wautoma, Wisconsin. Only having one parent, the two boys had to get used to a new school and a new environment while they were waiting for their father to return home safely.