You might have seen posts on social media saying you can send Christmas cards to “a recovering soldier,” but it turns out those cards will just get returned to you.
Posts making their way around social media during the holiday season claim that you can send cards to “A Recovering American Soldier, c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center.”
The U.S. Postal Service will not deliver any letters, postcards or packages addressed to an unnamed service member, including “a recovering solider.” This policy has been in place since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to the U.S. Postal Service website.
Military hospitals also do not accept mail to unnamed service members.
If you want to help a military member this holiday season, the American Red Cross offers a Holidays for Heroes program to serve military members, veterans and their families.
You can visit or contact your local American Red Cross office for more information as the program is conducted differently at each office to best serve the military members and veterans in that community.