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Perennial open-hearted entreaties are circulated online every year just before the holiday season, suggesting that Americans add A Recovering American Soldier to their Christmas card lists: While no one can fault the sentiment behind the suggestion (not only to remember the less fortunate during the holiday season but to make a special effort to reach out to those who have been wounded in the service of their country), such exhortations are outdated: in these times of heightened security, mail from strangers to unnamed soldiers must be discarded unopened for everyone's safety. The U.S. Postal Service will not accept mail addressed to Any Soldier, Any Wounded Soldier, or the like because if they did, it could be providing a conduit for those who might do harm to armed services members. Such offerings are either returned to sender (if a return address has been provided or if one is found within the package) or donated to charities (if no address for the sender is found): Similarly, military hospitals will not accept letters, cards, or packages addressed in such manner for the same reason. Such beneficences, no matter how kindly meant, are not permitted to reach the soldiers they were intended for. Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) officials echoed this information in a statement regarding public efforts in sending cards to unnamed soldiers who are recovering in the facility's care: The former Walter Reed Army Medical Center closed in August 2011 and merged with the National Naval Medical Center to form the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) in Bethesda, Maryland. The Holiday Card Drive 2016 page on their web site instructs the public that holiday cards for service members should be sent through the Red Cross and the Holiday Mail for Heroes program:
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