Posted on 09/22/2019 8:07:08 AM PDT by bgill
DEAR ABBY: I am a veteran, and something gnaws at me every time I hear it. It’s the expression, “Thank you for your service.” Having lived through the ’60s and ’70s, I remember all too well seeing many soldiers bad-mouthed and worse during those times. Since 9/11 many of the same people who were critical of us then are now thanking us. It rings hollow to many of the vets I have talked to. We did our job, some to the ultimate level. We never asked for thanks, and we still don’t. We respect the rights given to those who wish to abuse them because we believe in them. Some of us even died so all could enjoy these rights. If a person truly wants to thank a vet, DO something for him or her instead of just offering lip service. Cut their grass, offer to help carry in their groceries, etc. While words are appreciated at times, hearing them too often becomes hollow. Showing appreciation is always welcome. -- A VETERAN IN THE MIDWEST
(Excerpt) Read more at al.com ...
As someone who was in the infantry I agree with your son.
If the guy is wearing a veteran’s cap, he must know that people are going to thank him for his service. If he doesn’t like it, he could just stop wearing the cap.
I'm a VietNam vet, also. I've always thought that those who spit back then are not the ones thanking us now.
I know that three of them don't have teeth anymore.
Dear Veteran;
Thanks for your service. Now, get over yourself. Several generations have come and gone since you served. TImes change. Surely some of the people who spat on you in the 60s and early 70s have changed their mind regarding you, even if they still hate the war. Even more importantly, yunger folks who thank you for service have born decades of service themselves and they are still at it last I checked. Thank them every time you see them so they do not get as botter as you may be.
Finally, tell us once again how strangers ont eh street seem to know that you are a Vietnam Vet Oh, yeah, that spiffy “look at me and thank me for my service” ball cap?
Take it off and you are just an older dude walking in WalMart.
Did I say “Thank you for service” yet?
Signed,
A guy who doesn’t wear an “I love me “ hat and just goes about bearing my circumstances privately between myself and my Creator, the rest is fluff.
The problem with clichés is that through overuse the meaning becomes weak or even lost, though the truth that they express is the reason they have become overused.
The nagging feeling that an expression might be a cliché is a signal to think of something else or maybe consult the thesaurus.
He didn’t. He joined between the end of it and the start of Vietnam. He was still in his teens. He was 18 I think. He was a jump instructor and firearms instructor that trained the boys that had to go to Vietnam. He started out at Ft. Benning GA and then was sent to S. Korea to the DMZ. He spent two years stationed in S. Korea. He hated that place!
That’s kind of what I told him. I told him it was different people now.
Agreed. I smile and say thanks.
Agreed. That's what I do.
Where have good manners gone?
Help a vet who actually needs help because he lost something in service to his country. Many of us are retired military and doing just fine. Sure a lot of midwatches boring holes under an empty ocean [submariner], but I got a paycheck, GI bill and reserve retirement. I don't resent a thank you for your service, but I think it's misplaced and should be directed to those who sacrificed life, limb or health, or suffers from PTSD.
Written by a young Antifa member.
“...supply pukes.”
Without whom the Infantry would be ineffective. They couldn’t even get to the Forward Edge of the Battle Area; they’d have to wait for it to come to them.
All veterans serve our country. Even those who had easier duties were available for a change of duty to something risky at any time. One big difference between signing up for military service and for any other job is that a serviceman cannot quit if he/she doesn’t like it.
Mine was a comfortable position as a physician in Europe, twenty-five years or so after the end of World War II.
Whenever anyone thanks me for my service, I accept the acknowledgement graciously but feel the faint urge to differentiate between my service and that of combat veterans. In the case of my children and close friends, I do differentiate.
On the other hand, I regularly thank combat veterans--and especially veterans of World War II--for saving the world from its nightmare.
I feel the same desire to thank President Trump for saving America--so far--from a nightmare just as terrible or perhaps worse.
I served over 21 years active duty, if somebody tells me thank you for your service I say thank you. Rarely happens though, only when I call USAA and use my Vet card at Lowes.
Exactly. I hear this frequently when I'm in uniform. I smile and replay, "Thank you for your support."
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