[jonascord]

Bemusing article. It's the first time in years I've agreed with the NYT.

[Texas Eagle]

Okay, fine. I won’t thank you for your service but I will continue to anonymously pay for your lunch.

[nuconvert]

“when I met him two months ago in Colorado while reporting for an article about the marijuana industry, for which Mr. Garth and his company provide security.”

hmmm

[Does so]

The link took me to a NYTs subscription request.

[lee martell]

So now saying ‘thank you for your service’ is considered bad form, or is that the opinion of just a few, like this one person? We had a whole generation from Vietnam who did not get treated very well upon their return, and some remain bitter about it to this day. I don’t overdo the ‘thanks’ if the vet in question is busy doing something else. We Americans tend to veer on being friendly anyway. Is that really such a bad thing? I don’t think so.

[Billthedrill]

The Times loathes the courtesy shown to any veteran, so take this one with a bucket of salt. Most liberals do. It grates against their anti-war romanticism. The thanks they gave veterans after Vietnam is very well known indeed.

[Joe Marine 76]

I served 20 years, 1 month and 18 days in the Corps and I am also a veteran of The Persian Gulf War (OPS: Desert Shield/Desert Storm). I sometimes wear one of my many “USMC” ball caps out in public, not so much to garner thanks, but in hopes of meeting ANY other veteran and chew the fat.

I have in the past felt uncomfortable when I got a “Thank you for your service,” particularly from non-veterans, but recently discovered that I can return the thanks by saying: “And I thank YOU for your support!” It kind of levels things and the grateful folks seem to feel good about that return of thanks.

[ansel12]

We have had trouble filling the ranks for many years even since 9/11, and I agree that the farther from the military that American men get, the more patriotic they sound in praising those who serve.

[Gay State Conservative]

I've always thought that thanking a vet for his/her service rang a bit hollow...at least sometimes.The very best way that we,as a nation,can thank vets is to give them the help they deserve...that they've earned... to find decent jobs if they can work and give them the medical and financial support that they need if they can't.

[babygene]

I don’t agree with this. I’m a disabled Vietnam navy vet, and sometimes wear a Navy ball cap. I find that most folks that “thank me” for my service are also vets.

[imardmd1]

The newsman truly showed his gratitude by taking the time to hear and accurately summarize the vet’s real felt experience without embroidering it.

[right way right]

I learned to care enough to just spend some time with a veteran that I befriended at my church.
Your actions will thank them in time, by not asking them questions.

My friend passed away, and it was only at the memorial service I heard the harsh reality of his service. He was the deal deal.

[Rocky]

OK, so treating the soldiers badly, as happened during Vietnam, is wrong. Thanking them is wrong. Ignoring them is wrong.

Sorry, I’ve run out of options.

[yldstrk]

I am a veteran. I had a cushy peacetime job. I thank vets for their service when I see them. I socialize with veterans. I admire veterans.

This particular soldier may have a huge chip on his shoulder, but that is his problem. He is the one who enlisted. He volunteered. Don’t resent what happens if you sign up for it.

[Yaelle]

I have said it sincerely several times but the soldier never appears to like it.

I’ve never been in a situation where I could easily anonymously pay for their lunch.

So I guess I say nothing, do nothing. I’ll thank them and pray for them in my head. The last thing I want is for them to feel I’m not truly appreciative.

[Half Vast Conspiracy]

I retired 5 years ago. Without the uniform no one is likely to thank me. It did happen when I was in uniform and I was never comfortable with it.

I didn’t serve for thanks.

[murron]

Just because a few object to it, I’m not going to stop saying it. My son is a veteran and I know he appreciates the sentiment.

[CodeToad]

Considering the lamestream media lies so much in their articles, making stuff up like this wouldn’t surprise me at all.

It think this is just more liberal propaganda trying to get people to stop thanking people for military service, a liberal attempt to downplay military service.

I have heard many a liberal complain that people who served where thanked so why weren’t they thanked for their jobs that they do. Jealous little kids.

[reasonisfaith]

I’d say the best thing to do is recognize when the ugly serpent of political correctness is slithering up the steps toward your front door.

[elteemike]

Feel free to thank me for my service, or even wish me “Welcome Home”...

If you swore the oath, and wore the uniform honorably, whether you served in combat or “shoveled s&%t in Louisiana”, we all signed the same blank check and served, and recognition is deserved...And from most people, veteran or not, the thanks is heartfelt...

Each individual’s experiences are their own, no accounting for individual reactions...Some are left bitter and their only outlet is to piss on the sentiments of another and point out “they don’t know or understand what I’ve been thru”...OK...Maybe not...But accept the thanks at face value and carry on...Or not...

But when I hear “Thank you for your service” from the lips of one of our feckless “leaders”, the Mocha Mullah for instance, then I’d just as soon have my lost time back...

[Svartalfiar]

The more so, he said, “when your war turns out to have feet of clay” — whether fighting peasants in Vietnam or in the name of eradicating weapons of mass destruction that never materialized.

This sentence rather summarizes the overall feeling I get from the author - trying to turn civvies' thanks and make the soldiers sounds like assholes for 'expecting thanks', but turning it away when offered.

Then the reality that he might die, along with his friends — 17 of them did, in action, by accident or by suicide. And, he now asks, for what?

Huh? does the elaboration add anything to the 'story'? This just sounds like a piece screaming for attention.

. Hardest is the gratitude from parents of fallen comrades. “That’s the most painful thank you,” he said. “It’s not for me, and I’m not your son.”

What? They'd be the first people I would expect gratitude to be accepted from... They're the ones who know the sacrifice more so than anyone, who thank you for your willingness to be that sacrifice. I can't tell if the author is trying to make this dude sound like an ass, or the author just is.

Really, I think I could take this story a lot more seriously if it wasn't coming from the Times. Unfortunate, but it is what it is.