Every day for the last two weeks, dozens of listeners have sent me an e-mail that's been going around the internet, asking that I please plug it on both my show and this website. As always, those who have forwarded it have done so without checking to see if it's for real.
The e-mail in question this time is the one asking people to send holiday cards to recovering soldiers at Walter Reed Army Hospital. It sounds like a good cause, but there's a good reason for my refusal to broadcast it: Walter Reed won't accept those cards, and they won't actually go to a soldier -- any soldier.
Here's the hospital's official statement...
Walter Reed Army Medical Center officials want to remind those individuals who want to show their appreciation through mail to include packages, letters, and holiday cards addressed to 'Any Wounded Soldier' or 'A Recovering American Soldier' that Walter Reed cannot accept these packages in support of the decision by then Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Transportation Policy in 2001. This decision was made to ensure the safety and well being of patients and staff at medical centers throughout the Department of Defense.
In addition, the U.S. Postal Service is no longer accepting "Any Service Member" or "A Recovering American Soldier" letters or packages. Mail to "Any Service Member" that is deposited into a collection box will not be delivered.
Instead of sending an “Any Wounded Soldier” letter or package to Walter Reed, please consider making a donation to one of the more than 300 nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping our troops and their families listed on the "America Supports You" website.