Former Marine: Veterans Are Tired Of Hearing 'Thank You For Your Service'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Dom Giordano talked to former Marine Hunter Garth on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT about his service and the response he's received since returning from Afghanistan.
In a recent interview, Garth said he and other veterans have become tired and burdened by perfunctory thanks and compliments.
He stated the greetings and adulation no longer have any real emotion attached for most of the people he meets.
"I do truly believe that 'thank you for your service' is becoming a blanket statement and that it's lost a lot of its validity. It's very similar to 'Merry Christmas.'"
He feels that after serving in dangerous conditions and environments and surviving the horrific circumstances of war, his perspective has changed and veterans have a hard time relating their time under fire with congratulations or 'thank yous' back home.
"When the bullets start flying, God, country, political stance, and religious beliefs -- those go out the window, and the purpose for your fight is simply for each other. So it's hard and it's overwhelming, and honestly, it's conflicting when someone says 'thank you,' because a lot of combat veterans don't have the ability to say, 'while I appreciate your thank you, I did not do it for you.' That's where the confliction comes from."
However, Garth did say that not every thank you he's received is unappreciated.
"There are hundreds of thousands, millions of people who truly mean it, and I want those people to know the finger was never pointed at them. Those people are the example, those people are the right and people that took offense my opinion, if they truly feel that way, if they truly feel like they've invested time and energy and strong will to say thank you, they're not who I'm speaking about."