“Thank you for your service!”
As a veteran of the U.S. Army, I have occasionally been the recipient of this appreciative expression. I understand the sincere sentiments behind it. But my response is usually limited to a nod and polite smile because I don’t feel especially positive about my involuntary servitude as a draftee.
Moreover, should I who served as a personnel records clerk in Germany really get the same “thank you” as an infantryman wounded on D-Day? However well-intentioned, the phrase ends up not sitting right with me.
