An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings
Screw Ups
Iraq Soldier’s Mom Sues Over Letter Stamped ‘Deceased’
A Minnesota woman is suing the federal government after a letter she mailed to her son in Iraq was returned with the word “deceased” stamped on the envelope, even though the soldier is alive.
Joan Najbar of Duluth filed the lawsuit last month in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, claiming emotional distress and negligence.
Najbar sent the letter to her son in September 2006. Several weeks later the letter was returned to her by the Postal Service with a red “deceased” stamp. Najbar contacted the Red Cross and learned her son had not been killed.
She filed a claim for injuries against the Postal Service in July 2008. That claim was denied. A letter from the Postal Service says its investigation found no negligence.
A call to Najbar’s attorney was not immediately returned. The government’s answer to her suit has not yet been filed.
Say whut? No negligence? I dunno….sure sounds like someone screwed up somewhere along the line.
I remember my dad’s family talking about the day my grandmother got a telegram during WWII, “We regret to inform you….”. News that the youngest boy had been shot down, and killed, over Germany, was devastating for the entire family. A few weeks later, my uncle walked through the front door, completely unharmed. Now, granted, people didn’t consider suing anyone at the drop of a hat, but you can see where such news could seriously damage a person’s mental health for a while.
The U.S. Military doesn’t notify families that their loved one has been killed with a stamp on letter. This pretty much points to some low level moron, either at the U.S.P.S, or in the military’s mail room. Either way, someone should step forward, and take responsibility. Should there be financial gain in a lawsuit? Oh, hell no. But a personal apology is not out of the question.
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Another one we agree on. By the way, same thing happened in my family as yours. My dad’s brother was reported as KIA in WWII then just walked in the door. It was a dog tag mix-up in the chaos of war.
I understand its troubling, but actually worth SUING over?
Hardly. But like you said, a high ranking officer showing up at the door to personally apologize would go a long way.
Sorry to get to this discussion this late, but it sounds as thought this letter was handled by an Army postal clerk. The US Post Office turns mail to the APO/FPO system and the branches handle it from there. I’m sorry for the worry and shock the mother suffered, but if her lawyer (sounds like a money-grubbing idiot to me) was too dumb to even figure out how the mail was handled, he ought to ask for his money back from the schools that let him graduate without even teaching the fool how to do basic research.
Anybody who’s been in the military knows how screwed up the APO is. The girl to whom I was engaged in ‘68 sent me a Dear John letter, but by the time it got to my unit I’d been wounded and sent to Vung Tau. It didn’t get to the hospital there ’til I’d alreaady been evacuated to 106th GenHosp in Japan. Even with the 2-1/2 weeks I was there, I out-raced it to Okinawa. Of course, in the meantime I’d called her collect from Tachikawa Air Base when we first got to Japan, so it cost her 150 bucks to tell me on the phone what was in the letter that reached me about 2 months after she sent it.
Rob J
Jeeez. Some females… sigh…
Anyways… You’d think that after all this time, there would have been some improvements on the mail delivery.
I guess I’ll expect mail delivery to improve about the same time the chow improves, or the goldbricks, or the Second Lts., or……….
Bet it was the same for the Roman Legions.
I do know that now my son-in-law gets his packages in a week to ten days at his base in Afghanistan. Guess it’s about time to order him a calendar from Gina Elise at http://www.pinupsforvets.com so he’ll have it for next year. Too bad he has to settle for the calendar, though, as we got visits from Bob Hope, Ann Margaret and the like. Ah, the good ol’ days.
Granted, it has gotten a bit quicker. I remember those letters to and from Vietnam seeming to take forever! But I think you’re right, not much has changed since waaaaaaay back when. Heh.
Gracious sakes. That’s who they’re ogling these days, eh? Well, that’s not Raquel Welch, or Betty Grable, but I reckon it’ll do for today’s young whipper snappers. Heh.