A majority of younger veterans said they feel uncomfortable when they are told “thank you for your service,” a new poll found.

Ahead of Veterans Day on Saturday, a survey found disparities between young military members and their older counterparts in how they prefer to be recognized for their service.

Among younger military members and veterans — age 18 to 29 — 70 percent said they feel uncomfortable or awkward when they are thanked for their service. Only 24 percent of older members, 65 years and up, say the same, the Endeavor Analytics and YouGov poll found.

“This data shows that military service members and our veterans want Americans to go beyond small talk to connect with them on a deeper level, including learning more about their service, honoring each veteran’s service in ways in which they feel comfortable talking about it,” Robert F. Whittle Jr., retired Army major general and United Services Automobile Association (USAA) chief of staff, said in a statement.

  • RattlerSix@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I’ve always thought it was more for the person doing the thanking wanting everyone around know they’re more patriotic than everyone else

    • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      Performative patriotism.

      No different than trying to have the most flags on your house.

    • agent_flounder@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I guess I always thought it was the thing to do, growing up in the wake of viet nam. I don’t anymore b/c I’ve heard from many not to.