Army sent "John Doe" letters to dead soldiers' families.

To Whom It May Concern:

Sorry we got Whatshisname - your boy and/or girl killed. He/she sacrificed his/her young life for something or other. We hope you enjoy the enclosed coupon for Arby's.

Anyway....

From the Chicago Tribune:

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.