Posted on Jan 21, 2015
Does it bother you to hear "Thank you for your service!"?
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All active duty stand down(but don't walk away, this will effect you later) Veterans does it ever bother you to hear that? "Thank you for your service" I apologize but it mmmm...bugs me something awful, telling me " your done go sit down and grow feeble " needs changed to something that endures like we do something like "YO JOE!" or another saying meaning get outta my way theres work to do and I ain't done yet! Forgive if I wasted your time, just wondering.
Thank You
Service
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 623
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Not at all. In a time where patriotism seems lost, it's refreshing to hear it.
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SSG (Join to see)
Not from where I stand, it seems to me that nationalism/patriotism has been on the rise since 9/11.
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Specialist Buck: I can tell you that as a returning Viet Nam Vet 45 years ago I had to change from my uniform to civvies before making the trip to the airport. On the way out of Travis AFB I was confronted by the folk singer "Mama Cass" who made it her personal duty to try and spit on service personnel returning from Viet Nam. The only ones happy to see my return was my family. There was no one to greet you at the airport -- no thanks for doing what the country called on us to do... Just slinking out of the terminal to insure that no one else decided to bad mouth a soldier coming home from war. So I say "thank you, it was my honor to serve" when offered that recognition today. It is a badge I now wear proudly and you should too. LTC (Ret) Marc A. King, Armor
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SPC Larry Buck
Sir!, Yes, Sir! ..
By the way thank you for your service and the reminder of my return home, you had it bad with Mama Cass hocking lugies ..
Better then my return dressed in civilian clothes so al quida didn't blow up my plane! I'd rather got spit on sorry to say. I was told not to look too American ,so got civi's and hair dye looked loony but with dude from Norway we looked like brothers, sad had to go to a foreign country to find safety at home?
By the way thank you for your service and the reminder of my return home, you had it bad with Mama Cass hocking lugies ..
Better then my return dressed in civilian clothes so al quida didn't blow up my plane! I'd rather got spit on sorry to say. I was told not to look too American ,so got civi's and hair dye looked loony but with dude from Norway we looked like brothers, sad had to go to a foreign country to find safety at home?
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LTC Marc King
One last comment ... nether response for a returning vet is acceptable. I will give you that getting blown up would be a complete bummer and today all servicemen have to be on the lookout for the "Lone Wolf" sent to cause harm -- but you served the country with honor... that is really much more then many can say and to that I also thank you for your service!
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SPC Mark Beard
thank you for your service my sister !!!!!! Erika SGT AT ARMS AMERICAN LEGION POST 217 COLLEGE PARK MD
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I kept being told that I was only in the Coast Guard, even by other vets! My dad, who retired as a major in the Air Force, told me that the Coast Guard isn't really the military. This was from 1979 until just after the events of 9-11-01. It got to the point that I wouldn't talk about my service at the VA..... Slowly the attitudes started changing.
I love being thanked for my service! It feels good to know some people appreciate what I have done!
I love being thanked for my service! It feels good to know some people appreciate what I have done!
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SFC (Join to see)
I don't think many people know what what many of the USCG missions are.
Better yet. I should say that Hollywood hasn't informed the American people what the USCG does.
Better yet. I should say that Hollywood hasn't informed the American people what the USCG does.
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PO1 Michael Rohman
You are absolutely correct, SFC! I've only seen the Coast Guard in three movies and only one was actually about the Guard but it covered the smallest group, the rescue swimmers. The other two were kid's films, a Benji movie and "The Boatniks" from the late sixties..... Discover Channel did us some good with their "Deadliest Catch" program. But again, that focused more on the rescue swimmers and helo ops. I have never even seen a headline showing our law enforcement successes..... Hundreds of tons of drugs, hundreds of illegal aliens and the protection of our fishing industry. As I said earlier, we all served and we all deserve some thanks for our service, regardless of the branch we were in or the jobs we did! Thank you SFC!
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PO1 Michael Rohman
EGADS! The Weather Channel has a weekly show on the U.S. Coast Guard!!!!! Of all stations, The Weather Channel?! I have got to watch it!
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LtCol George Carlson
Maybe it's just a "Marine thing" but the number of Coast Guard coxswains on landing craft in WW2 brought the USCG into the "Marine family."
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It doesn't bother me, but at the same time, it does humble me. When I was in uniform, I carried small cards with flag ribbon pins on them. I called them pin-cards.
If a civilian thanked me for my service, I would tell them that it was my honor to serve and then I would ask them if I could give them something. They always said yes, and I would hand them the card and walk away. Depending on where I was, sometimes the civilian would chase me down and give me a big hug - many times, they would do so with tears. Then they would immediately pull the pin off of the card and wear it on their clothing.
I started doing this when I went AGR and continued until I retired. It was my way of letting civilians know that their "thank you's" do not fall on deaf ears. It was also my way of encouraging them to continue doing it. Not for me, because I didn't need it, but for that private or specialist or NCO that needed a reminder once in a while that they served a purpose and they are appreciated.
If a civilian thanked me for my service, I would tell them that it was my honor to serve and then I would ask them if I could give them something. They always said yes, and I would hand them the card and walk away. Depending on where I was, sometimes the civilian would chase me down and give me a big hug - many times, they would do so with tears. Then they would immediately pull the pin off of the card and wear it on their clothing.
I started doing this when I went AGR and continued until I retired. It was my way of letting civilians know that their "thank you's" do not fall on deaf ears. It was also my way of encouraging them to continue doing it. Not for me, because I didn't need it, but for that private or specialist or NCO that needed a reminder once in a while that they served a purpose and they are appreciated.
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LTC Hillary Luton
SGT Bob Sampson - I'm sure we would all prefer the "Thank you" over the treatment you received before.
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SSgt Daniel Reed
It's a nice gesture and I always respond with a thank you. Viet Nam was so long ago and I have outgrown the emotions at the Spokane, Washington Amoco station When I went inside to get a coke and a stunningly beautiful young woman cursed my Blues with language seldom heard outside of the NCO club. As she spun on her heels to leave she spit on the floor and told me to ask gods' forgiveness for killing babies. She wasn't so beautiful after that. I've often wondered over the years if she even remembers the incident.
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This bugged me for the longest time. I got so mad when people would say "thank you for your service". I could only think "where were you? Why were you not beside me?" And "the real ones you should thank are dead". It wasn't until older vets from prior wars told me of how they were mistreated and looked down upon by fellow Americans when they returned. They think it's an honor to hear "thank you for your service" because they were not given the respect they deserved when they returned.
I have leaned to reply with "thank you for your support". At first it was really hard to say, it still is, but it's gotten easier. Learn from the wise ones and carry on. Don't let this phrase anger you so much.
-Stewart, Mary
OIF 08/09
I have leaned to reply with "thank you for your support". At first it was really hard to say, it still is, but it's gotten easier. Learn from the wise ones and carry on. Don't let this phrase anger you so much.
-Stewart, Mary
OIF 08/09
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SGT (Join to see)
Awesome Mary. Thank you for enlisting and taking the abuse that I'm sure you got. You stayed in and that is great. Old vets are proud of you.
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When anyone stops me to say 'Thank you for your service' I realize that we, as a country, have come a long way beyond how our fellow Vietnam & Korean vets were welcomed. I accept their gesture with the politeness and gratitude it deserves. I know they did not have to say anything but chose to say it out of the goodness of their heart.
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SPC Mark Beard
I love thanking my vet brothers and sisters for their service and i feel Honored when it is said to me
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SPC Mark Beard
thank you for your service if you served in Nam welcome home when im entertaining on stage I always do this and sing the Ballad of the Green beret
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SPC Larry Buck, It's the ultimate THANK YOU, from AMERICANS FOR YOUR "DUTY HONOR COUNTRY SERVICE TO THE NATION.
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It doesn't bother me at all when a veteran thanks me for my service. I quickly return the sentiment.
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Not really, I think. That it goes with the timed. I hate to say it but it is Pc to say it right now. Sorry to say there are alot of Vietnam veterans that should have been told Thank you for your service. We as a country failed on that end.
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SPC Charles Griffith
It is why I ALWAYS Say it when I see one. had a friend ask me one day "why do you do that how do you know he didn't just buy a hat?" I said I guess I'd rather tell some faker than to miss out on the chance to tell a real hero.
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SGT (Join to see)
The way we were treated as Vietnam vets made the next generation feel guilty. They understand and don't want it to happen again. So, in a way we helped the future generation.
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