Recently, there's been a spate of blogposts about how veterans are weary of people stopping them in public and thanking them for their service. As someone who does this regularly -- albeit as discreetly as possible -- I found this hard to believe.
This is going to sound bad, but I'm a military history junkie. I know war is horrible. I've read stories that would curl or straighten people's hair, depending. I've watched the snuff videos that ISIS puts out not because I'm entertained or because I have some morbid sense of adventure. I watch them to remind myself not only of the lengths man's inhumanity to man will go, but also to know my enemy. So when it comes to a background in conflict, although I never served and only once stepped foot on a U.S. military base -- Torrejon outside of Madrid, January 1, 1985; it's a long story -- because of my reading habits I am more informed that the typical civilian who isn't a professor of history.
So when I read the blogposts complaining about people approaching and thanking vets for their service, I was taken aback. I could understand if people were making a spectacle out of it, embarrassing not only the veteran but themselves with an ostentatious display of false patriotism and gratitude. But when I do this, I do this discreetly: I lean in, offer my hand and thank the veteran for his service (in truth, I think I've only been able to identify one female veteran, but it's not for want of looking. They, for some reason, don't wear the garb that readily identifies them as veterans as much as their male counterparts do). If I can tell by the hat or the shirt in which war they fought, I'll ask them where they were stationed. Because I read as much military history as I do, I follow up with a question about their assignment with some intelligence. I'm not doing this to make myself feel important or better; I want the veteran to feel appreciated, knowingly so.
One time, I was in local Speedway when I saw two young servicemen in the store. I discreetly approached the manager, told him to quietly tell the men that someone had paid their tab, and then took care of it when they'd left. I didn't make any fanfare about it (it didn't amount to much, unsurprisingly) and left the store without anyone but the manager and the cashier knowing about it.
I haven't seen other people thanking vets much. Perhaps they do it and I don't notice it. But when I do it, I do it quietly and without drawing any attention to myself. Oftentimes they're done via drive-by in an aisle or a doorway, where I reach out my hand and thank the veteran for his service. I can only remember one time when a veteran seemed less than appreciative of my gesture. But that was in Ohio, so what should I expect?
I don't know what motivations other people have when they express their gratitude to veterans, so I make no comment about that other than to say that I'm sure most people are sincere, and others just feel some weird obligation without really having any sentiment behind it.
The other day I was coming out of Wal-Mart and ran into a Marine Vietnam veteran. I offered my hand and thanked him for his service, then asked him where he'd served. He told me he was based up in Danang near the DMZ. He mentioned having rotated to Khe Sahn, so I asked him if he was there during the siege. The siege of Khe Sahn was an infamous Marine battle in which General William Westmoreland used the Marines stationed on a hilltop as bait to draw North Vietnamese forces close so they could be killed with artillery and aerial bombing. For as effective a strategy as that may have been in theory, for the Marines being used as bait it was a nightmare. I've never been west of Kansas City, but because of my reading I know about the siege of Khe Sahn. And this is what sets me apart from many people who thank veterans.
So I took the opportunity to ask Walt from P. what he thought about these blogposts.
"I can spot someone a mile away," he said. "If they're phony, I know it."
I would like to think that most veterans are this discerning. Perhaps some are just tired of being accosted by strangers in public. But I remember the time when servicemen returning from Vietnam were spit upon, harassed verbally and physically and generally treated like pariahs in our society. I think it's a small thing to thank someone for their service, especially those who served overseas.
No matter what bloggers are saying, I'm not stopping. It's a small thing to do. And if one or two of them don't like it, they're free to tell me so.
(c) 2017 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles
No comments:
Post a Comment