On veterans day...

[nadinbrzezinski]

tomorrow please, do not thank people for their service, It really pisses people off. Trust me on this, heard this from way too many veterans, not just my husband. If you must say something nice, welcome them home. This especially applies to our Nam era vets...

But here is what I'd like you to do. Commit yourself to make sure the country does well by it's vets. No, not because they are a privileged class, no Mr. Demint, that is not it. But because in the words of the FIRST commander in chief of the Armed Forces, and Commanding General of the Continental Army put it, a nation will be judged by how it treats it's veterans.

And to the vets on this board... welcome home...

And also commit yourself to something else, a world where no more war is done. In our day and age it is especially easy and our entertainment industry always makes it look like fun... again take my word on this,,, it's not fun... nor honorable in the way our media likes to portray it. Yes there is honor in some of it... and a camaraderie that can't be explained... you gotta live it, but not in the way our movies portray it.

And to the vets amongst us... welcome home, truly, welcome home.

[jaysunb]

1. Thank you

I'm always at a loss when well meaning people, thank me for my service.

Thank you AND my Bro (your Hubby :) )

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. You welcome and welcome home

[soapboxtalk]

3. For every veteran around the world...

I'm sorry we haven't learned yet how to not desire to kill one another, and here's hope that some day we will know our last veteran. Our generation can see this, and we can lead them.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Well that is the other meaning of armistice day

to use the very european meaning of tomorrow.

Oh and welcome to du :hi:

[lynne]

5. Possibly the dislike of "thanks for your service" is a personal or regional thing -

- as my Vet husband and his vet friends and our current military friends have always responded warmly to a "Thank You" for their service as did my vet father and uncle prior to their deaths. Especially true of WWII and Korean vets.

Welcome Home is wonderful, as well, but I've never, EVER, come across a veteran who was pissed off by being thanked for their service. It's my experience that they don't care what you say or how you say it providing your respect and thanks is genuine and from the heart.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. Perhaps... but I am just passing on what I have

heard from way too many vets I know... perhaps it is generational too.

Or perhaps, as one put it... polite comes to mind.

[Cid_B]

9. I agree...

I appreciate a "thank you" more than a "welcome home"...

[SlimJimmy]

27. Same here. I'd much rather hear a "Thank you for your service" than

"Welcome Home". It just might be personal preference as I'm also a Vietnam vet.

[SoDesuKa]

12. I'd Rather Get a Free Car

I don't want crumbs of gratitude; I'd rather have a free car. It doesn't have to be fancy - after all, it's the principle that matters. And when I'm taking ownership of my free car, I'd like to open up the glove compartment and find a generic apology to me and everyone else who was duped by the military. It doesn't need to be personal, and certainly not heart-felt. But if all you're going to do is talk, you can at least say that.

It's surprising that you've never met a veteran who was pissed off about being thanked. There are certainly a lot of us who feel swindled. I don't speak for other veterans of course, but when somebody thanks me for my service I think the real purpose is to distance themselves from the shabby way America treats veterans. And I'm not at all pleased about that!



Keep your thanks; I'd rather get a CAR.

[lynne]

25. Well, I can't afford to give you a car -

- but I can say that I'm genuinely sorry you feel duped and swindled by the military. When I extend my gratitude, I don't consider it "crumbs". It's all I've personally got to give and when I do so, I do it with heartfelt sincerity.

So, no thanks from me. How about "I'm sorry" instead? I sincerely hope you're able to turn all your anger and frustration into motivation to make a change in those things that made you so unhappy in the military.

[SoDesuKa]

29. Standing

I've ignored Veterans Day for years, and this is the first time I've even taken note of it. Maybe it's because it's become more jarring than in the past. I don't welcome the idea that any old slop is good enough for veterans, we ought to be grateful we don't get ignored entirely.

The day after Thanksgiving the newspapers have photographs of politicians serving meals to the homeless. Sometimes it's not just politicians but local celebrities as well. These folks want credit for showing sympathy to the downtrodden. The homeless aren't in a position to be offended; after all, a meal is a meal.

Crumbs

[MADem]

13. I'm with you. It never offends me. It beats being insulted for one's service. NT

[cliffordu]

7. Thanks for this.

I LOVE hearing "Welcome home"

and

"Thank you for your service".

Didn't hear enough of this in the '70's or the '80's or the 90's for that matter.......


But:

Mine was not the stuff in the movies, just another dogface.

Like grandpa, like dad and all my uncles.

Just something we did.

Just the way it was.

You did your service and came home,

and as in Candide -

We just came home to 'tend our gardens' - (sic)

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%


And,

Welcome home to you, nadinbrzezinski,

Welcome home. Thank you for your service.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. You welcome...

and now we must commit ourselves to remember the dead, and work for the living.

I am getting damn sentimental in my older years, or it is the number of vets I have added to my list of acquaintances... over the last few weeks of occupy...

[cliffordu]

10. I cannot believe how YOUNG these vets are.

Was I ever that young??

Were WE ever that young??

:cry:

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. Yup, we were, young and dumb

:-)

There are stoopid maneuvers that I would not do these days... nor would you.

[SlimJimmy]

28. No. Okay, well ... maybe.

[SoDesuKa]

14. Remembering the Dead

I used to go every year to the Armory to observe Memorial Day. That was before the right wingers turned it into Military Appreciation Day . . . not what I had in mind. I do not appreciate the military nor am I "grateful" what other veterans have done.

I do indeed remember the dead. The people who turned Memorial Day into yet another rah rah day for the military don't realize how disrespectful they are.

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. I fully agree with that

but that is a classic of ... that famous F word.

and memorial day should not be a day to buy junk, or to appreciate the military... it should be what tomorrow is for many commonwealth countries, armistice day...

Watching a program right now on Vietnam and vietnamization... I am having a certain deja vu about afghanistan...

[ellisonz]

16. I disagree on thanking vets.

Without the service and sacrifice of vets my grandparents would have assuredly died in the concentration camps of Hitler's Third Reich. For that, I am grateful.

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. We can... just be aware that for many it sounds empty this day

mostly due to our actions as a nation.

:hi:

And I guess in my case I should thank a few red army vets for the same exact reason.

[ellisonz]

18. I agree if it's pro-forma.

This country has made mistakes, there's no doubt about that, but if anything Veteran's Day should remind us of our need to not just honor the vets but recommit ourselves to bettering the world for all. I don't think thanking someone for wearing the uniform is uncalled for on a day that is dedicated to that purpose.

:hi:

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. That is exactly what I said in the OP

we need to recommit ourselves to delivering on those promises we like not to fulfill and working to achieve peace...

If we do those two, then the words will not be as empty as they feel to many of the vets I know.

[Obamanaut]

20. There is nothing wrong with recognizing the military service of another with a sincere

"Thank you for your service" type statement. It is not said to anger anyone. Just as a genuine "Merry Christmas" as a seasonal greeting is not meant to aggravate. The speaker in neither case knows the mindset of the one being greeted - does not know (in the case of the Christmas greeting) what faith system the listener holds (if any), he/she just knows that for them it is a happy season and wants to share.

If one does not want to be thanked for service, simply acknowledge with a nod and be on your way. It is not necessary to enter into a harangue about beliefs (just as a sincere Christmas/holiday greeting does not), or the ills of society,

For the 'service' greeting, my response is along the line of "I enjoyed my career, and now I enjoy my retirement, so thank *you*."

For the Christmas one, a simple "And to you as well."

Neither greeting really pisses off most people, not really. Cannot say for sure, having not met "most" people, but that's what I imagine.

[SoDesuKa]

21. Are You Looking for Sincerity?

If you're looking for sincerity, would you mind if I gave a sincere response to your gratitude? It may not be what you're expecting. I don't want civilians thanking me for my service, I'd rather they investigate why so many veterans are committing suicide. The number, already astronomical, does not include druggies, drunks and other veterans who engaged in morbidly high-risk behaviors. Investigating that would be the kind of thing I'd appreciate, because it would show that some civilians are catching on. Finally.

For the record, I'm not particularly impressed with crumbs of corporate gratitude. Applebee's has no doubt costed out its faux generosity in giving away free entrees on Veterans Day. This shouldn't be the way America gives back to its veterans, but unfortunately that's what veterans have come to expect.

[Obamanaut]

23. There are some who are sincere when they say these things. Just as there

*may* be one or two politicians who are sincere when they say they want to help 'we the people.'

There are others, in both groups, who probably are not.

I take it at face value. If someone thanks me, or gives a seasonal greeting, I go with the thought that they mean it. Why go out of one's way to find fault or suspicion in every phrase uttered in my direction? It hurts me not one iota to respond to a greeting with a smile and a returned greeting. It is NOT necessary to educate every single person on the face of the planet.

Are you aware that there are many veterans who are *not* committing suicide, are not druggies, or drunks. Many, maybe even most, are happy well-adjusted citizens.

I will not berate someone in a check-out line if I overhear a political phrase that I do not agree with. I will not chase down to educate someone with a bumper sticker some here might find offensive.

I am not having an Applebee's lunch today, but I am preparing brownies and lemon bars for a family reunion tomorrow. In the morning I will get up early and prepare a couple dozen baked chicken thighs - my contributions to the covered dish meal. Some relatives tomorrow will thank me for my service, others will not. In either case, the day will be enjoyable, because I CHOOSE to make it so. Try it.

As for the last sentence in your response "...This shouldn't be the way America gives back to its veterans, but unfortunately that's what veterans have come to expect...", maybe you and a few others "expect" that, but I don't, and I have not seen it among any of my retiree/veteran friends and acquaintances.

[pintobean]

22. +1 - I sure don't mind a 'thank you'

and I've thanked a lot of vets. Most of them appeared to genuinely appreciate it. Some just shrug it off, but I've never had anyone get pissed.

[pecwae]

24. News to me.

I'm grateful when thanked for my service. Why would it piss any vet off? It doesn't. I was just at the VA yesterday and was thanked for my service by the staff and given a small token of gratitude. I can guarantee that I didn't come home pissed about it.

[MineralMan]

26. It pisses some people off, but not all.

If someone thanks me for my service, which happens rarely, because I don't broadcast that I'm a veteran, I thank them for their support and move on to the next topic. The thanks is from an individual, and my response is as an individual.

Quite frankly, you're overstepping here when you tell people what they should and should not do. Each person will decide and each person hearing any thanks that are offered will decide for him or herself.

I maintain that you are in no position to advise people on either side. Say what you wish, and others will react as they wish.

You are not an arbiter of public expressions. You are simply not qualified to be that.

[Texasgal]

30. Thanks for being the all knowing.

My Grandpa a WW2 vet very much enjoys people "thanking" him for his service.

Really Nads, there ARE some things that you do not know about and this is one of them. Thank you for your advice, but you are wrong. As much as it pains you... you are WRONG.

[cherokeeprogressive]

31. I don't understand what it is in you that makes you think you can speak for a whole group of people.

So your husband HATES being thanked for his service. To hear you say it, every Veteran you've talked to HATES being thanked for their service.

I gots some news for you... you're experience DOES NOT equal that of Men and Women who've served their country through military service.

I didn't join the Armed Forces for the future prospect of being "thanked". Few in the last five decades have. I'll tell you this though, most of us (US, not YOU) don't get offended by being "thanked" for our service by an American Citizen.

Stop speaking for others unless you've SHARED their experience. I gave BEAR HUGS to at least ten people today while thanking them for volunteering for the same hard work and experiences that I lived through.

You didn't serve. Who the fuck are YOU to tell people not to thank those who did?