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.
My grandfather and uncle both served in my countries military, and I didn’t know what else to do at the time. While yes, they are used in combat, the majority of what they do is not warfare.
During my time, we assisted in sandbagging villages from flooding, helped fight forest fires, protected civilians fleeing from a warlord, etc. I personally never participated in those missions, but it was part of why I signed up.
As I said, I don’t always support how our military is used, but the need is real. And that, unfortunately, sometimes includes fighting.