WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army issued a formal apology to the families of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan after it sent them letters with the salutation “Dear John Doe.”
In December, the Army sent out 7,000 letters to the families of most of the 3,544 soldiers killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001 containing information about services or gifts for which they may be eligible.
Although the envelopes were properly addressed, a software problem resulted in an error that printed the place-holder salutation of “Dear John Doe” at the top of the letter. The letters were printed by a private contractor.
J. Paul Boyce, an Army spokesman, said that the service had not received any angry complaints, but several families called to alert the military to the error on their letters.
“There are no words to adequately apologize for this mistake or for the hurt it may have caused,” Brig. Gen. Reuben Jones, the Army’s adjutant general, said in a statement.
In addition to the formal apology from the military, Gen. George Casey Jr., the chief of staff of the Army, is sending the families a new letter explaining the error.
Veterans groups agreed that the erroneous salutations were a mistake but took different positions on the larger issue of how well the Army is supporting the families of soldiers killed in action.
Joe Davis, a spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said the greetings were an “unfortunate mistake.” Davis, who was briefed on the error by Army officials, applauded the military’s efforts to stay in touch with families.
“It is embarrassing,” Davis said. “But it’s very good that they are trying to reach out to families to say the Army is there to support you.”
The founder of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Paul Rieckhoff, was less forgiving, arguing the Army needs to do more to support military families.
Rieckhoff said that after controversy generated by disclosures that former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld used a robotic pen to sign casualty letters, the military should take extra care when communicating with the families of fallen soldiers.
“How much does it take to proofread letters?” Rieckhoff said. “You have to remember the amount of hurt the families are going through.”
The Army declined to release the name of the California-based company that printed the letters, insisting that responsibility for preventing the error was the military’s alone.
“We take full responsibility,” Boyce said.
Military officials did not immediately respond to a Freedom of Information Act request seeking the name of the company.
