Please do not thank me for my service.

[bluescribbler]

Nobody thanked men when I returned from Nam in 1972. Nobody thanked me until the Bushes needed cannon fodder for their adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Military-Industrial complex tried to use me for jingoistic propaganda, and they are still trying. I won't have it.

[Beachnutt]

1. And now they vote for traitors and try

to destroy democracy and then go around acting patriotic thanking folks for their service..
It's fake.

[Eliot Rosewater]

2. And I am curious your take on this...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spitting_Image


I believe this article, that it basically didnt happen. You?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. I have been aware for several decades now

that long-after-the-fact of returning vets being spat on were bogus.

[The Wizard]

7. Anyone spatting on me

upon returning would have gotten a beatdown they'd never forget.

[Eliot Rosewater]

8. I have a family member who insists it is true because his dad told him so who was in Nam

but I think it is not true, that the person heard others were saying it WAY after the fact so he said it too.

Too bad because I believe there are MILLIONS who to this day will NOT vote for a Democrat because of it.

[NoSheep]

6. and this is about the anti-war protestors' behavior, and NOT our embarrassed government, yes?

[Eliot Rosewater]

9. My link is about the lie that soldiers were spit on when they returned.

[bluescribbler]

10. All I can say is that it never happened to me.

Nobody I spoke to in my campus vet's group said it happened to them. Perhaps the closest I can relate was when a fellow student said, "No Veterans, no wars." I told her that she had the cause and effect relationship backwards.

[rampartc]

16. if it happened it never (literally) happened to me

i never heard of or imagined it happening until after that dumb azz stallone movie came out and it suddenly "happened" to every student deferred hero who wasn't worth a good spit.

http://www.vvaw.org/veteran/article/?id=350

Stories of spat-upon Vietnam veterans are bogus. Born out of accusations made by the Nixon administration, they were enlivened in popular culture (recall Rambo saying he was spat on by those maggots at the airport) and enhanced in the imaginations of Vietnam-generation men — some veterans, some not. The stories besmirch the reputation of the anti-war movement and help construct an alibi for why we lost the war: had it not been for the betrayal by liberals in Washington and radicals in the street, we could have defeated the Vietnamese. The stories also erase from public memory the image, discomforting to some Americans, of Vietnam veterans who helped end the carnage they had been part of.

[NoSheep]

4. I have been wondering how I can honor veterans on this day without appearing trite or tone deaf

My feelings come from being a person who doesn't think anyone should be asked or made to go to war in order to protect a way of life that only benefits a vast minority of people. I just feel deeply for anyone who was ever drafted or who joined voluntarily. I assume they had no idea what they are getting into and the scars last forever. I've been watching some programming on PBS this week and I feel so sad about it all.

What would you like to see from those of us trying to understand?

[bluescribbler]

11. Ask us questions about our service.

Not questions like, "Did you kill anyone?", or "Were you scared?"
Instead, ask us about the food. Ask if we had any close friends in the service and if we had seen any of them since. Ask about our commanders and if they were any good at it. Ask if we would do it again.
Don't ask for details about any battles or firefights we were in. Combat vets only talk about that with other combat vets.
That's not an exhaustive list, but I hope you get the idea.

[MLAA]

17. Thanks for the tips. I won't forget them when I talk to vets.

My dad was in the Korean War at age 18. He passed away a month ago and was buried in his uniform. Originally he didn’t want a Military funeral but changed his mind at the end. As he said, he lived 91 wonderful years and was ready to go.

Wishing you the best,

[jimfields33]

5. I'm thrilled when people thank me. They are very pleasant.

Only 1 percent of the country has done military service. Glad the majority appreciates the veteran minority group.

[TomSlick]

12. I believe that most people are sincere when they thank me for my service.

I try to acknowledge them as politely as I can muster. However, the thanks are shallow.

If you really thank service members, insist they are paid decently, fed, equipped, and appropriately treated when they get home.

[bluescribbler]

13. That's right, the thanks are shallow.

That's the part that bothers me the most.

[TomSlick]

24. The vast majority of Americans today have no concept of what is meant by military service.

The thanks are shallow because the don't understand for what they are thanking us. I can't condemn people for shallow thanks arising from sincere ignorance.

[rampartc]

14. +1

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

15. I usually smile and say "You're welome". I don't know what else to do.

I can only imagine that they are sincere. Even though there's really nothing to thank me for: I didn't join the Army, they drafted me. I didn't go to Vietnam, the Army thought I should go to Europe: Recon Oktoberfest.
.
I still have some bits of uniform, though they have shrunk severely since '68.

Enjoy the day, enjoy the free meals at participating restaurants.

Thanks for your service, or, maybe, it don't mean nothing.

[FakeNoose]

18. I knew returning Vietnam Vets back in the early/mid 70s

Every Vet that I met or heard about during those years was uniformly anti-war and most were anti-military.

I don't remember any saying they'd been treated with disrespect (spitting etc.) However I do remember several of those Vets being unhappy about their job prospects. At the time not many Vietnam Vets were getting hired, but that's because the country was in recession and NOBODY was getting hired. We had oil embargoes, plant closings, mass layoffs, a lot of unhappiness over Watergate etc.

My friends among the Vietnam Vets felt discouraged about jobs, but they failed to realize that it wasn't directed at them. It was affecting our entire baby-boomer generation.

[DownriverDem]

19. The draft

made all the difference too. More free thinkers were drafted than join today.

[Mr. Ected]

20. Thank a soldier privately by voting for representatives that support veterans with legislation

"Thank you for your service" is as shallow for most people as "Have a nice day".

[70sEraVet]

21. When somebody thanks me for my service, I laugh and say,

"Well, my CAPTAIN wasn't too grateful!"
I'm not a combat vet, by the way.

[40RatRod]

22. Glad to see so many level headed troops on here.

Go Air Force!

[Greyhead]

23. I feel the same way

In 2003 I called into a radio show that was promoting the Iraq invasion. Stated that I was a Nam vet. They immediately said “Thank you for your service” and I replied don’t thank me, we didn’t do anything to be thanked for. The hosts we immediately taken back I started to get on my soap box and they wasted no time to get me off the air.
Til we his day I still hate that phrase.