[camle]

i am not a veteran, and I have never disrespected any veteran. those of us who did not serve owe a great deal to those of you who have served. some of us appreciate the sacrifices that you made on my behalf, and remain grateful. while I have been known to pay for veteran’s incidentals, such as coffee, etc., there is no other way to express this gratitude other than saying thank you. please permit me the ability to continue this.

[Savage Beast]

I served in the Army for three years. Although I am proud of this service, I do not feel that my service is in any way equal to that of combat veterans and certainly not the men who fought in Europe and the Pacific to rid the world of naziism and fascism.

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.

[glennaro]

You don't need anyone's permission -- including the "permission" of any veteran -- to express your gratitude for their service and for our armed forces. If your expression of gratitude is rejected by a veteran because they don't think they're worthy of it, well, that's their burden to carry.

I will continue to thank any veteran I meet as I respect and am grateful toward all veterans regardless of the capacity in which they have served (which, of course, I have no way of knowing).

[Ancesthntr]

This. I am in the exact same circumstances, and I think in exactly the same manner that you do. While the phrase may be hollow coming from some people, it is not how well coming from the vast majority of people out there. They really feel and believe this. I think that this particular veteran was rubbed the wrong way by one or a few idiots, and perhaps we are not to be so sensitive.

I work part time for a charity that assists vets who are in transition, most of whom have PTSD. While most of the guys that come to our ranch are veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, we get quite a number of Persian Gulf vets and Vietnam vets. I have never heard any of them say anything other than “you are welcome,” or something equivalent, when someone said “thank you for your service.” They all understand that this is all that most civilians are able to do, since they are not their brothers.