Army apology: 'John Doe' notes for dead

by Julian E. Barnes

The 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 caused 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 the service had not received any angry complaints, but several families called to alert the military to the error on their letters. That prompted an investigation showing that most likely all the letters were misprinted.

"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, the Army chief of staff, is sending the families a letter explaining the error.

See the rest of the report on the Army's Dear John Doe letter in Tribune newspapers and here in the Swamp:

Bonnie Brown of Troy, Ala., whose son John was killed in Iraq, said she received a copy of the letter this week. She said she found the salutation odd but not offensive. "I did notice it said 'Dear John Doe,' " she said. "But it didn't really bother me."

Several veterans groups took different positions on the larger issue of how well the Army supports 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. Rieckhoff said that after the controversy generated by disclosures that former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had 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. "We take full responsibility," Boyce said.

jbarnes@tribune.com

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