Do you also dislike seeing Redskins flags or a Red Sox bumper sticker on cars? If you were a football or baseball player for those teams, would that make you sick? Why?

If you had a football team, but no fans, would you still play the game at the same level of intensity?

They thank you because whatever your motivation, you knowingly, willingly gave up your own freedom and risk your life in support of a greater cause.

They thank the Gunnery Sergeant who doesn't get to tuck her kids in at night, because she fully knew the consequences of her choice and did it anyway, so that your wife can go to work every day in New York City with less fear of a terrorist attack, or so that Afghan girl can go to school one day.

The job at hand is irrelevant. Even if you 'wasted' years in Iraq fighting for an 'unworthy' cause, that was not your intent. You joined to defend the Constitution of the United States against enemies, foreign and domestic, and that alone is noble. Your leader decided the cause.

If you were deployed to Sudan to give humanitarian aid to refugees, would you accept that Thank You?

If it's just a job to you, then yes, roll your eyes at the Thank You. But maybe it's time for a new job.

Especially the last graf. And expressed with notable restraint, too.
Thanks again,
Tom

Strykertime and Tom Ricks,

I am very conflicted about the “Thank you for your service.” I’ve reviewed the four articles and understand the sentiment.

The first thing I will say is that what makes me feel good is that my guys “who still have a lot of problems” made it possible for the United States to look at those serving in a different light that in the 60’s and 70’s.

The next thing to say is that the feeling expressed about the losses; the toe tags; and the body bags will never go away. No matter how long you live. That is the problem with the Thank yous. Too many of us know names, faces, and personalities that will never hear the thank yous.

This factors into the equation.

The problem with the thank you’s is that too many people are now coming out and thanking those from 40 years ago.

As has been said in your four articles Thank you for doing your duty is not fitting. We all had our motivations for serving (in the 1960’s and in the Oughts and 10’s).

But those of us from the past sometimes feel like telling those thanking us: “Where the hell were you when Fonda was on the twin anti-aircraft weapon? Where were you when we needed a hand in the 60’s and you called us drug-crazed baby killing Viet Nam veterans.

The ones who did the name calling are now the ones who are saying “Thank you for your service.”

You know as well as I that so many of those who are thanking the veterans qualify their thank you’s with “I don’t/didn’t agree with the war, but, we can’t blame the warriors.”

So many of the people who say that tell me that they were against the war. That happens with Iraq and Afghanistan. I have a major problem with the hypocracy.

These people never had a man laying on the ground with 7.62 rounds across the chest and the front quarter of the skull blown away and you’re trying to keep him alive. They don’t go to sleep with the memory of the Marine who had both legs blown off, starting to go into shock and you’re afraid to give him morphine because it could kill the Marine.” Then they thank you after saying that they were against the war.

Where were they in 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, and 1972? They were outside the gates at Travis; at LAX; Fort Lewis; El Toro and other places. They were in DuPont Circle; Jackson Square; and Georgetown yelling “Peace, love, and drugs.”

That is when the “We honor your service” should have gone down. But, we were met with John Kerry and the specter of the “Winter Soldier” meetings.

So Thank you’s may be appropriate, and in some ways welcome. But, I, like many of my peers, do not understand how to take these words. We don’t know if these words are like the ones that were uttered in the 60’s or the words of asking for forgiveness by Ms. Fonda when she was doing a movie in Connecticutt. She later showed her true colors in her going against the nation again. She did not change her spots. Is her thank you welcome or worthless.

We tried to make sure that our veterans are not disrespected as we were. We’ve shown that finally the United States realizes that the Viet Nam veterans’ are cut from the same cloth as their forefathers “The greatest generation.”

Our love of country and the willingness to serve was well demonstrated as is those of this generation.