Claim: Civilians can send "thank you" messages to American troops through a Department of Defense web page.
Status: True.
Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2003]
Whether we agree personally or not with the decision made by our country's leaders we need to stand behind the decision and show our support for men and women of the U.S. Military. Please visit the Department of Defense web page listed below and sign in thanking the men and women of the U. S. military for defending our freedom. The compiled list of names will be sent out to our soldiers at |
Origins: Sending letters of support to U.S. troops can be a bit difficult these days. Those who have friends or relatives serving in the military and know their exact addresses can get mail through, but the Defense Department suspended the distribution of most "Any Service Member" general mail to soldiers after the
overseas.
To overcome this obstacle, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) set up a "Send Your Thanks to the U.S. Military" form on the Defend America web site the DoD established when troops were deployed to Afghanistan for Operation
In 2007, the effort was revived as a "send a text message to the troops" program. Those who visited americasupportsyou.mil between 17 and
Other established "Any Service Member" programs such as Operation Dear Abby (now operated through a Navy web site) do provide participants with the ability to send customized greetings of up to 1,000 characters.
Last updated: 24 November 2007