November 27, 2007 - Regarding the letter noting that "Cards or gifts 'to any service member' won't be accepted":

Closer to home than Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., is the James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa, where many veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are recovering from their wounds.

Florida Veterans for Common Sense has undertaken the pleasurable job of encouraging people to send cards to them through one of our members. To date, well over 300 cards have been collected, and we expect that number to reach 600 before they are delivered on Dec. 13. The center has asked us to instruct the giver to sign only their first name.

It is absolutely appropriate to include a note of thanks and/or encouragement with the card, and address it to "any service member." Please help us make the upcoming holidays a happy one for our brave service people. To show your support, send a card in two envelopes. Address the outside envelope to: Harry Stiml, 1263 Windward Dr., Osprey, Fla., 34229.