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 learned this volunteering at the VFW. When you get involved with vet culture, you can tell pretty quickly if the person wants that kind of attention. I also learned that the only real way to thank them is to listen to their stories so we can abandon the need for the military.
Nailed it. You get it.
We all had our own reasons for joining and being “thanked” feels like survivor’s guilt when you know so many didn’t make it home. No matter what you did, what you saw, or why you joined, a vet left part of themselves in that place…body and/or mind.