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 ...
I just want to be left alone.
I carry $5 gift cards for a popular coffee chain (yeah - Starbucks!) to hand out to military personnel. They are always very appreciative. Not very expensive, but shows appreciation for what they do to keep our country safe.
Commitment to an ideal bigger than oneself should not be reduced to a cliché!
A late family friend (AF vet from the 50s...he was part of the technical team that examined the first MiG-15 we got our hands on) made the same point to me back when clerk-typist Al Gore was running for President...”when you don’t have that level of support behind you, you wind up with disasters, like the Japanese armies that starved to death!”
Indeed. I treat it as an empty "Have a nice day." and just move on. To me, I was just "payin' my dues." and expect nothing.
Its unfortunate for you that people do not give you that recognition you deserve and crave. Most of the rest of us, even without the assistance of hats and clothing, license plates, regulation haircuts, or quirks like polishing tennis shoes and starching jeans, can identify, not 100%, most of the other vets, especially those who were enlisted, that are around us on a daily basis.
Bearing, tendency for momentary contemplation, deliberate movement, and their observance of the environment around them are the types of things that one might notice. Im one of those people that are apparently easy to identify. I normally wear off brand jeans and a plain crew neck tshirt. I don't walk around discussing the military like some people tend to do yet in public places strangers walk up and say, "Youre a veteran aren't you?" and without a response on my part thank me before they wander off. Occasionally I will meet the gaze of another vet in a public place and there is a subtle silent acknowledgment sometimes little more than a twitch in both eyelids like an aborted blink that tells us both that we know.
I was in a civilian hospital for something a couple of years ago. As I sat in the bed a stranger in scrubs walked in and before he did anything I said "Welcome home corpsman. I feel easier knowing youre here. How long have you been out?" He was shocked that I didn't just know he was a vet but specifically that he had been a corpsman. I wont bother with the thought process that told me who he was in the past and why he was in my room but I knew.
I presently work with people with disabilities. For various reasons I tend to presently work with violent individuals with mental health problems but that hasn't always been the case. When working with someone that has never had sight there is no way should they ask to ever explain in a manner that they will truly ever understand what light or the color blue is. If you truly are the person expressed above you too are blind to a wavelength that I will never be able to make you understand but that doesn't make it any less real.
I never know how to respond when someone says that to me.
There are times related to that that tells me by tone and delivery that the message is intended to be just the opposite but someone in management may be watching/listening. It used to bother me until I realized that my existence was pissing off another loser without me having to put any special effort into it. Now I relish those moments as I walk out to the car.
Thank you for serving to preserve our freedoms and bless your hands that helped to heal the wounded combat veterans.
I have said for a long time now, that those who have the Hate Has No Home Here signs on their lawns would gleefully wave bye-bye to the cattle cars crammed with Conservatives.
That’s what I told him.
I put up the flag every holiday. I’m the AV geek for the town’s November 11 remembrance program. I donate to Toys for Tots. Proud of my Dad’s and uncles’ service. I drink cheap beer at the Legion as an SAL member, and always take time to sit and listen to their stories, if they feel like telling them. But I’ve heard too many stories of shoddy treatment at the hands of the VA.
I thank vets that I’m already in a conversation with, not walk up to total strangers (no reason why, it’s just they always seemed uncomfortable with it).
Reason I say all this is that I thank them for their service because I’m thankful.
Biggest regret I never served - I went to sign up, but it was right at the end of the Vietnam War and the recruiters talked me out of it. Went on to college and work and kids. But all that was only possible by the sacrifices of vets past & present.
He’s proud of his service but at the same time he gets uncomfortable when people gush over him. I can see how proud he is when they do it but then he tells me “it’s what real men did back then”.
Charlie seemed to think he was a real vet. Poked several holes through him with an AK somewhere along the line.
You hear bad stories sometimes about medical hospitals supporting the front line but whoever originally put him back together had some amazing skills.
I might even be magnanimous enough to support the idea that those people might be REAL vets too.
I understand what the man believes, trust me. I’ve known dozens of men who have been through combat and everyone of them were never comfortable about talking about it or never reveled in it’s horror. They always said “The real heroes are the guys who never came back’’. I learned at a very early age to be quietly respectful of veterans and never to be showy in thanking them.
He is surprised at how much better he’s treated now than then but he’s proud of his service. When he joined, his family lived way back in the mountains of TN. They didn’t have electricity or running water. He finished high school but the only way he could go on to school was to do it in the Army. He ended up a licensed electrician and then an electrical engineer. Both of his younger brothers joined too because according to them “that’s what real men did”. All of the men in his family were military until their sons came along. None of them have joined. He thinks the military would be good for all able-bodied young men now. He’s not thrilled with women being in the military. My dog’s Veterinarian and friend of mine is a Desert Storm Vet. The last time he went with me to take a dog to see her he thanked her for her service so he’s coming around.
I always remember the words of Dick Winters.
“One day my grandson said to me, grandpa were you a hero in the war? And i said to him no I’m not a hero, but I have served in a company full of them.”
Yep...suck it up, whiner.
Leni
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