Army says it used "John Doe" in letters to grieving families

The Army said Wednesday that it had mistakenly sent 7,000 letters with the salutation "Dear John Doe" to family members of soldiers who have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

By ELISABETH BUMILLER

WASHINGTON — The Army said Wednesday that it had mistakenly sent 7,000 letters with the salutation "Dear John Doe" to family members of soldiers who have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The letters, which were sent to provide information about private groups that offer assistance to families of soldiers killed in the wars, were supposed to have carried personal greetings.

The Army said that the mistake was the fault of a subcontractor that printed the letters, but that the service bore ultimate responsibility because it did not check the letters before they were mailed.

"There are no words to adequately apologize for this mistake or for the hurt it may have caused," Brig. Gen. Reuben Jones, the Army adjutant general, said in a statement.

The Army said that its chief of staff, Gen. George Casey Jr., would be sending 7,000 personally addressed letters of apology.

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