The Selective Service System has mistakenly sent draft registration notices to 14,215 dead Pennsylvania men.
A computer error lead to the federal agency sending out the thousands of draft registration forms to the addresses of men born during 1893-1897. If any of these men were still alive – which is highly unlikely – they would be at least 117 years old.
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Families of the deceased men began receiving notices last week. The Associated Press reports the notices said a no-reply is “punishable by a fine and imprisonment.”
The agency sent out a statement apologizing for the error.
“Selective Service regrets any inconvenience caused the families of these men and assures them that the error has been corrected and no action is required on their part,” the statement reads.
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The problem occurred following an automated data transfer between Pennsylvania and the Selective Service, which included the names of the 14,215 men born near the end of the 19th century. The letters started going out on June 30, sent to men who would be at least 117 years old.
“It’s never happened before,” Pat Shuback, a spokesman for the Selective Service, told the Associated Press.
The Selective Service System collects information on men eligible for military service if a draft is ever needed again. The last draft was in 1973.
