Veterans like to hear thank you but usually uncomfortable as well

Your 'thank you' to veterans is welcomed, but not always comfortably received
By Bill Briggs
NBC News contributor

If the evening commute home from his Texas Army base includes a grocery store stop, National Guard Staff Sgt. Scott Gilbreath will purposely change out of his camo so that, ironically, he can blend with other customers.

“My work clothes are the Army Combat Uniform so I stand out from the crowd in the very clothing designed to hide me,” Gilbreath said. “Without fail, (inside the store) will be a well-meaning person — sometimes a sweet grandmother or an older gentleman with his VFW hat on, or sometimes another young man — who will stop and shake my hand and say ‘thank you.’ I get kind of choked up inside.”

He appreciates the warm words yet acknowledges they also give him an awkward sensation, as if the courtesy is a bit misplaced.

“It is hard to pin down why we soldiers have the uncomfortable feeling when someone says ‘thank you,’ ” said Gilbreath, who has served more than 20 years in the Army. "Thank you? For doing the job that we were trained to do?”
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