Do we have to thank the servicemen all of the time?

It has been over a month since my last post which is ridiculous considering a whole lot has gone on this past month.

With that being said, let me clear up something about my title. I am very appreciative of all the sacrifices that our members of the United States Armed Forces make in order to protect the freedoms and privileges that we as a country hold so dear. I also fully understand how that sacrifice effects the family and friends of our proud military men and women.

So, why the question? I probably should provide a little background. I spent the past week celebrating the nuptials of my closest friend from high school who is also a United States Marine. A decent contingent of Marines that he works with flew to St. Louis for the ceremony so I spent a lot of time. Regardless of where we went, as soon as it was discovered that they were Marines, a chorus of praise and adulation filled the air. I will never forget the looks of anguish on there faces after having to respond to endless iterations of the same and somewhat shallow "Thank you for your service." In my opinion, they seemed more stressed than honored to receive the praise.

I am all for giving credit where credit is due but after what I saw this weekend it begs me to wonder, do we really need to thank every different soldier that we meet with every chance that we get? It seems that ever since 9/11 and the War on terrorism began, the country has entered into this hyper-appreciative, hyper-congratulatory spirit for all of the "boots on the ground." Maybe its just me, but it seems to dilute the significance of giving genuine thanks. This in by no means reflect that I believe that people are not being sincere in their expressions of thanks. However after being with a group of soldiers for multiple days in a row, it seems that they have heard it so much that they are becoming desensitized to it.

Obviously, they are cordial and appreciative of the thanks but have you ever seen someone who is truly grateful for a word of thanks? If you have you know that it is an expression that cannot be faked and it is abundantly clear that the brief word of thanks struck a cord within them somewhere. I believe that is the kind of thanks that our men and women of the military deserve. To give you an example of what I mean, at my friend's wedding, the father of the bride gave a heartfelt and almost tearful thanks to all of the past and present military men and women in attendance during his toast. You could see that his heart was in it and because of it every current and former military person at the reception had that same expression that I commented on earlier in this paragraph. It was a joy to see the impact that the 1-minute expression of thanks had on the entire room.

For those that read what I have written and have become offended, I am sorry. However, I stand by every word in this post. I believe that it is great that people feel compelled to thank our military personnel for there service. From now on, however, instead of issuing a blanket thank to every soldier that I meet, I plan to reserve them for the special moments when I know those selected soldiers will understand the immense depth of my appreciation for their selfless service to our country and the sacrifices they and their loved ones have made, to keep me and my loved ones safe.