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 think something to consider is what veterans that old went through. They likely were drafted to serve in Vietnam against their will. That’s a much different situation than any soldier has been in since then. I think they very well should be thanked for what they were forced to do, especially since many of them received the exact opposite treatment back then right after the war. Many people treated those soldiers as war criminals just because they idealogically opposed the war. At the very least, they deserve respect and compassion. That war completely changed so many people’s lives for the worse, with a great many suicides as well.
Yeah for sure. The treatment of US soldiers returning from Vietnam is an embarrassing stain on our history.
Especially when the counter-culture lead the charge, spitting on them and calling them baby killers.
Most of those guys were still pretty much kids and didn’t want to be there in the first place.