This Memorial Day, Please No Thank Yous for Your Service

"Thank you for your service." Most veterans and those currently serving in our military will tell you this is an awkward thing to hear, even on the best of days. We know it is said with good intention and most often with genuine gratitude, but, somehow, it still feels wrong. For the vast majority of us, time in the military felt much less like service and more like a privilege. What's more, no matter how much any individual gave or suffered, I'm yet to meet the veteran or serviceman/woman who doesn't feel someone else did more than them. "Thank you for your service" is a kind thing to say but your smile, friendship and taking the time to ask questions and learn more about that individual's "service" are all better.

Regardless of my feelings, or those of anyone else, "Thank you for your service" has become a part of the American lexicon and will no more go away than ubiquitous questions like: "How's it going?" or "Are you having a good day?" These questions make us feel good about ourselves for being polite, but, on the rare occasion we get an honest, unguarded response, we realize we weren't actually interested in the answer. Memorial Day, however, is different; it is the day all Americans, particularly those of us who have "served" or are now "serving," need to remember, reflect upon and pray for those brave men and women who heeded their nation's call but never came back. So this Memorial Day, I would ask others to make it a point NOT to thank our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, Coast Guardsmen or Veterans; it is a day to reflect on the freedoms, peace and prosperity we enjoy and to thank God for those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that each of us did not have to. If you do feel strongly about thanking someone for the many blessings of our nation this Memorial Day, I urge you to reach out and thank a mother, father, sister, brother, wife, husband, son or daughter for their treasured loved ones, who gave their lives so that the rest of us may live.