Being the victim of excessive gratitude’ might sound like a trivial complaint,but uncomfortable exchanges are symptomatic of a deeper problemVeterans Day can be surprisingly awkward for troops. Every combat vet I know is very uncomfortable with being “thanked” for his or her service. I don’t doubt that a lot of the gratitude is genuine, but it has also become a cover for what many veterans perceive to be the public’s ambivalence toward an increasingly complicated war.
Holiday or no holiday, or thanking the troops – at sporting events,in airports, in beer commercials has become so routine and automatic that, or as a soldier,I often feel like I’m getting absent with something. Soldiers know that there will always be an operator out there – possibly a good friend – who had it way worse than they did. Modesty and social restraint swell in proportion to combat experience.
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Source: theguardian.com