Mom Sues Postal Service After Letter to Son Is Returned Stamped 'Deceased'
A Duluth, Minn., mother has filed suit against the U.S. Postal Service after a letter she wrote to her son stationed in Iraq was returned with a “DECEASED” stamp across the front.
Joan Najbar, who is described in media reports as a vocal critic of U.S. military policy, claims the stamp caused her emotional distress, loss of income and attorneys fees.
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that Najbar’s son, Sam Eininger, was serving with the National Guard in Iraq in 2006 when the letter was returned.
After receiving the letter, Najbar maintains she contacted the Red Cross, which informed her that her son was alive.
“I was out on patrol, and I got a message to call my mom,” Eininger told the Star-Tribune. “I called her immediately after I got back, and she told me what happened. She didn’t sound pleased. I couldn’t blame her.”
Najbar’s previous damages claims, seeking $118,000, filed with the U.S. Postal Service have been denied.
The suit maintains that Najbar has never received an apology or explanation for an incident she characterizes as “somebody’s cruel little joke.”
