"Thank you for your service."

[IrishLake]

No, I don't. I used to, but not anymore.

My husband is a firefighter for the largest department in the state. He does not like being thanked. He does not like being called a hero. He says it's his job, it's one he chose to do, and one he's lucky enough to get paid very well for. He expects no thanks, he just expects to be paid every week. The vast majority of firefighters he works with feel the same.

A good bunch of the fire and police personnel we know, plus family members, are current and former military. The general consensus among them is that it is appropriate to say thank you to veterans and active duty members on Memorial Day, July 4th, and Veterans Day. They don't want to be thanked when they're just running into the grocery store. Or trying to eat lunch out.

Instead, I just try to establish eye contact and smile. But then again, I do that to most people I pass by.

Funny quick story (I can't remember if I told this here or not):
About a month or so ago, I had to run into the local bank branch. I told my older 2 kids to sit in some of the waiting chairs while baby girl and I went and talked to a teller (I had left my ATM card in their ATM overnight). My son, who is 4 and has ZERO patience for anything, gets up and walks over to me and starts to ask me what's taking so long, and I tell him he needs to return to his seat and sit quietly. While he's doing that, an Army soldier walks in the front door, and goes to sit down in the same chair that my son had just been sitting in. My son says to the soldier, "NO! That's my chair!" And runs and jumps up into the chair really fast before the soldier can sit. I'm mortified, but the soldier just laughs, and moves to another chair. I finished up with the teller, and turn to collect my older 2 children. Before we leave though, I turn to my son and say, "You need to go apologize to that soldier. What you did was rude. You could have sat in a different chair." He nods at me, and walks toward to soldier. Bless his sweet little heart, he says, "Sorry soldier." The guy smiles, says, "That's ok buddy." My son smiles up at him, looks thoughtful for a second, and says, "Hmmmmmmm....... I farted."

The soldier couldn't stop laughing, and I just shrugged my shoulders... that's my boy!

[XAntoftheSkyX]

Originally Posted by IrishLake

My son smiles up at him, looks thoughtful for a second, and says, "Hmmmmmmm....... I farted."

The soldier couldn't stop laughing, and I just shrugged my shoulders... that's my boy!

[ASTalumna06]

No. My brother, 2 cousins, my stepdad, and numerous friends have served/are currently serving, and they all say the same thing... It's awkward.

Put yourself in their shoes. If someone came up to you and said, "Thank you," what do you say back? "You're welcome"? "No problem"? It's a strange thing to have to respond to, especially when for many of them, this is just a job that they chose to do.

On a day like Memorial Day or Veterans Day, I can understand. But any other day, I just don't do it. As my brother once said to me, "I just assume most people are appreciative. They don't need to thank me."

The only times I've thanked a soldier is while sitting at a bar. I've started talking to them, discovered through a conversation that they were serving, and told the bartender that their next drink is on me. They say, "Thank you," I say it back, we both say, "Cheers," glasses clink, the end.