A majority of younger veterans said they feel uncomfortable when they are told “thank you for your service,” a new poll found.
Ahead of Veterans Day on Saturday, a survey found disparities between young military members and their older counterparts in how they prefer to be recognized for their service.
Among younger military members and veterans — age 18 to 29 — 70 percent said they feel uncomfortable or awkward when they are thanked for their service. Only 24 percent of older members, 65 years and up, say the same, the Endeavor Analytics and YouGov poll found.
“This data shows that military service members and our veterans want Americans to go beyond small talk to connect with them on a deeper level, including learning more about their service, honoring each veteran’s service in ways in which they feel comfortable talking about it,” Robert F. Whittle Jr., retired Army major general and United Services Automobile Association (USAA) chief of staff, said in a statement.
Yep, I don’t like it one bit when said to me, and the one time I said it to a much younger vet I’d met I immediately felt uncomfortable having said it. (And I think he was uncomfortable too.)
I joined up because I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, enjoyed a brief flare of patriotism during and after bootcamp, learned some marketable skills, hated being in by the time I’d been in a year, and got back out as soon as I could to get paid for those skills as a civilian.
Yeah it sucked, and I guess I’m glad that folks appreciate that it sucked, but no one should thank me personally for it. It was my choice to join, and I did it primarily due to a lack of other good options.
I appreciate the veterans that have come after, but generally find the military worship at certain concerts and such to be a bit over the top.