At the end of 2008 the US Army sent a letter to the relatives of about 7000 soldiers who had fallen victim in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead of addressing the letters with the right salutation, all letters started with “Dear John Doe:”.
For those who are unfamiliar with the term: the names John and Jane Doe are used for anonymous or unknown people. The US army uses these names for fallen soldiers who are not identified yet. The names are related to the Latin term Nomen Nescio (N.N.). In cases where a person has to remain unknown or is in fact unknown this term is used, especially in official documents.
In this case the victims where not unknown, because the letters were send to the relatives of the fallen soldiers. It was just the salutation of the letter that was wrong. But in such letters it is inexcusable to make mistakes like this. Not long after this mishap the Army started pointing towards their subcontractors who were responsible for printing and sending the letters (a fulfilment agency, which thus far is still not mentioned with their full name). Nonetheless, the general public thinks that the Army is responsible, at least for proof-reading letters which are being sent to the relatives of fallen soldiers.
Tags: John Doe letter, salutation