What to put in a letter to an anonymous troop?

Question

As an option for a school assignment, I am allowed to write a letter to an anonymous US troop stationed overseas. However, I am unsure how to begin (Dear . . . .,), what to talk about, what to mention, what not to mention, etc. any ideas?

Answer 1

I'm stunned to hear so many people stating that the mail will go undelivered.  I'm sure they speak from expereince.

How unfortunate!!  

I've heard of a few programs to send letters to troops and/or vets and it never occured to me that nobody would get to read the letter.

On the off-chance that the teacher has found a way to have these letters delivered, here's some suggestions on the letter:

Dear friend

Dear soldier

Dear fellow American (or whatever your nationality)

In your letter, tell a little bit about what you appeciate in your life and how his/her efforts allow you to continue to enjoy your life.  Tell him/her how much you love your family, and how you know they have family they love and who loves them back.

Answer 2

Just label it:  Dear friend...  (But like Finatic said, it is better to have a specific person in the letter you are writing to.)  Find someone around your area that has been shipped overseas and write to them.  Even if you do not know them, they will appreciate the letter.

And in it, start by saying an informal hello and thank him/her for all the work they and their fellow soldiers are doing over there.  

Tell a little about yourself and your family.

End with an invitation for pen pals.  Meaning letting him/her feel free to write back and tell you about them.

They really just want someone to talk to and know that someone cares.

Also, ask them if there are any special requests they have.

Answer 3

Actually, you should seriously speak to your teacher about the newest regulations regarding addressing mail to anynoymous soldiers.  The Veterans Administration (VA) just issued a release saying that any mail addressed to "any wounded soldier" would be either returned or discarded, due to the inability to scan each piece of mail for any inappropriate content.  I am not sure, but this mandate could very well extend to overseas shipping as well.  

I work for a veteran's advocacy non-profit, and there are some really great resoures that help get mail and supplies to deployed servicemembers.  My favorite is anysoldier.com.  Even if you don't send your message through them, this is a fantastic way to get an idea of what types of things would be most helpful to include.  The site allows you to use just about any criteria to find a soldier/unit to correspond with; you can sort by military branch, area of deployment, where they deployed from, and even gender.  Each of these will take you to a page that lists emails from servicemembers detailing what they need most.  It ranges from simple letters to personal hygiene supplies to (a recent entry) an XBox.  

Please ask your teacher to make this site available to your class.  It would help you to better understand what to write, and if possible, you could even put together a package of basic supplies to send out.  I have spoken to my members (who have served in combat going back to WWII) and they have all expressed how much just words of kindness meant to them.  I have included some other sites that also offer help to servicemembers, but again, I would stress that you speak to your teacher about the guidlines issued by the VA.  I know that anysoldier.com scans all mail before it is shipped, and I would bet money that this is a standard practice across the board.  Either way, it is wonderful that you are doing this, but keep in mind that after the holidays have passed, there is still a need for this type of thoughtfulness.

Anyone that reads this comment should really consider checking this out.  These are our sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, husbands and wives.  They are soldiers, but they are people, and we should give them support as just that, regardless of our feelings of the wars that they are fighting.

Best of luck.

Answer 4

Don't bother.  Unless the letter or card is addressed to a specific troop it will not be delivered.  Any letter or card sent to an "anonymous" troop is confiscated and destroyed.  The reason is for the security of our troops.  Recently, there was an API news story regarding the thousands of Christmas cards that were being destroyed as they were not addressed to a specific troop.

Have your teacher contact a military recruiter and obtain a list of names so that your communication can be directed to a specific soldier.  Otherwise, it will not  be delivered.

Answer 5

Finatic is right. It is undeliverable if it does not have a name on it. Sad, but true. I understand the reasoning, but it is unfortuante because our soldiers love getting mail when they are over seas. They like to hear about you, what you do, your family etc. and they like photos and saying "Thank you" You could send one who has been there... If you like I could give you one name that has been there>>> Thanks for wanting to do that, the goodness is in your heart...God Bless

Answer 6

personally there my hero's for protecting our freedoms and so forth. so if it was my i would put dear hero and just thank them for putting there life one the line to protect our freedoms and rights. god bless America