Gifts of Gratitude to Our Troops

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Story Published: Dec 13, 2007 at 10:54 AM MST

Story Updated: Nov 7, 2008 at 12:15 PM MST

By Mary Sturgill

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During this holiday season, it might be a good idea to remember our veterans or our troops serving in Iraq. But you have to be careful how you do it. Mary Sturgill investigated this so your cards don't get stamped with "return to sender."
A lot of you are getting emails like this one I received today, and you're sending greetings that will never reach a soldier.
So I took some action for you and investigated exactly what you need to do get a holiday message, to our troops.
Many of you may have gotten an email stating something like this...
"When you are making out your Christmas card list this year please..include the following" And then the email has an address you supposedly can get a card to a wounded soldier.

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center...

This is a great thought, but don't waste your time. Because of security concerns the medical center can only accept mail made out to a specific soldier. Without a specific name, the card won't be delivered.
So I investigated how you can get a holiday message to our troops. you can send an electronic message to them at the medical center.
And as of December 6th you can get a card but no packages to a recovering soldier if you address it to:

We Support You During Your Recovery
c/o The American Red Cross
P.O. Box 419
Savage, MD 20763-0419

Then the red cross volunteers will deliver your cards.
There are ways to support our troops around the world. Just visit the American Supports You website at www.americasupportsyou.mil There you can make a donation to one of 300 non-profit organizations dedicated to helping u-s troops and their families.
Getting mail from home is a huge morale booster and there is a way you can do that too. It's simple and free. Just go to www.letssaythanks.com. It's a site set up by Xerox employees. On the site you'll find 53 different cards to choose from.
The postal service website also lists ways to support our troops and you can post greetings to our soldiers on the message boards.
And last but not least, you know the USO is taking care of our troops and they can help you at their website at www.uso.org
So do send some holiday cheer to our troops but be careful to make sure they actually get your gift of gratitude.
If you do mail a card for the red cross to deliver... the deadline for that is December 27.

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