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.
I went to a film festival a few years ago and one of the films was about the director’s father, a Vietnam veteran. The father was there at the screening and gave a talk after the movie was over. One of the things he said was how much he hated hearing “thank you for your service”, mainly because he thought the war had been pointless and no service to the US had been provided, and in any event he had been drafted and never saw combat. During the Q&A a fellow Vietnam vet stood up and asked him a question, and the first thing the film’s subject said in reply was “thank you for your service”.