Does it bother you to hear "Thank you for your service!"?

Why the hell would it bother anyone? With all the other crap veterans have to deal with.,..and when all the ticker tape parades are over the week after a return from a deployment.. its nice to have someone say anything nice... Make my day... thank me.. I'll thank you back.

no not at all usually at that awkward break in conversation with civilians have nothing more to say to you

It doesn't bother me at all. I usually respond with "You're welcome and thank you for your support." I thank those from the Vietnam era whenever I see them because they came home from war to face persecution and receive very little anything from the government that sent them.

Mostly yes, it bothers me. I agree with what a lot of people here have said, that it's often said as a bit of an automatic thing, often to makes the utterer feel good.

On a more personal note, although I suppose I could have found myself in unpleasant circumstances (combat, POW, or whatever) during my four years in the Navy, I had a relatively easy time of it. America was generally at peace, no full-on war raging. (Although of course we did lose military members to acts of violence during my service in the mid-1980s.) The real "thank you for your service" should go to those that went and fought, or even deployed to support those that fought. Anyone that had a mortar round whistling towards them even once or a bullet zinging by deserves thanks more than I do.

I don't really like it. But, don't dis me either. I did what I did and it's done. But the problem is, if you don't insist on it, vets are/wlill be soon forgotten and all the things the country owes us, like health care, will go away. aSo, be careful about refusing a blessing.

Having someone tell me, "Thank you for your service" doesn't bother me at all. It did, however, take me a few years of bumbled and mumbled answers to finally land on one that I liked. I look them in the eye and say, "It was my privilege to serve". That lets them know that the honor was mine but I appreciate their taking the time to thank me.
That said I don't get people coming up to me a lot. I don't wear anything that denotes me as a veteran except for a very small 1st Cav pin on my baseball cap. So most of the people that I am thanked by are veterans themselves.

I make it a point to shake the hand of any vet I see wearing a hat. Especially the WW2 and Vietnam vets. I always take the Vietnam vet's hand in both mine, make sure I make eye contact and say, "Welcome home, I appreciate what you did". I think it conveys a better message than just Thank you for your service.

YES! "Thank you for your service." DOES bother me. I find it to be just thrown out without feeling simply because political correctness demands it nowadays. I question the sincerity of the speaker. A simple "Hello" with a handshake would be much better IF done with sincerity. I cannot stand fakes or impostors in any situation. Be sincere and true or just go away.

If that bothers you, then I recommend you move to the San Francisco Bay Area where I lived long enough to realize that having my military service on my resume was a job killer.

Not at all and I don't expect people to thank me either. I love my country and serve it with pride and honor. Let me share a very inspiring incident that happened to me a couple of weeks back. "I love eating at Crackle Barrel when I was done eating I left the building and proceeded to walk too my car where I was approached by two older male saying "thank you for protecting my country. There were both retired Marines. I answered by no thank you I would not be able to serve without your sacrifices. It was an emotional day for sure.

Pretty much anything is better than what we got when we came "home" in '69. The shot-up, f*****d up and the PTSD's were avoided. The only ones in my town that got honorariums were those that came back in a body bag. I have found that the the people who say "Thank you" while they look you in the eye - or touch you - probably have - or had - someone that is serving or has served. I will usually ask them and if it's so and if so, I will pass the "Thank you" back. I have had it come to pass that the person has lost someone and we have ended 'hugging it out'. I suggest that YOU ! WE ! 'touch' anyone that says "Thank you" with a touch of our own for we know not what they have endured.