I did know he was a vet and so I did what seemed natural: I thanked him for his service.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo problem,\u201d\u009d he said.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t true. There was a problem. I could see it from the way he looked down. And I could see it on the faces of some of the other vets who work with Mr. Garth when I thanked them too. What gives, I asked? Who doesn\u2019t want to be thanked for their military service?<\/p>\n
Many people, it turns out. Mike Freedman, a Green Beret, calls it the \u201cthank you for your service phenomenon.\u201d\u009d To some recent vets \u201d\u201d by no stretch all of them \u201d\u201d the thanks comes across as shallow, disconnected, a reflexive offering from people who, while meaning well, have no clue what soldiers did over there or what motivated them to go, and who would never have gone themselves nor sent their own sons and daughters.<\/p>\n
To these vets, thanking soldiers for their service symbolizes the ease of sending a volunteer army to wage war at great distance \u201d\u201d physically, spiritually, economically. It raises questions of the meaning of patriotism, shared purpose and, pointedly, what you\u2019re supposed to say to those who put their lives on the line and are uncomfortable about being thanked for it.<\/p>\n