~thank you sir for your service~

not once, but twice,

joy fills my heart,

bringing tears to my eyes.

~

I pass a stranger and on his head,

a cap, which he wears with pride,

I read the words, Gulf War Veteran.

~

I catch his attention,

as his eyes glaze down upon my face,

I say: “thank you sir for your service”.

~

His eyes sparkle,

he tips his cap he so proudly wears,

and he tells me, thank you.

~

not once, but twice,

joy fills my heart,

bringing tears to my eyes.

~

A few steps more toward the door,

what are the odds,

I pass an elderly man sitting with another.

~

on his head, a cap,

which he wears with pride,

I read the words, WWII veteran.

~

I try to catch his attention,

as I glaze into his eyes, which are non-seeing,

I speak loudly, I know I need to.

~

“sir, are you a WWll veteran”,

his friend tells me, yes he is,

I kneel down and look into his face.

~

“I thank you sir for your service”,

He replies, as a big smile spreads across his face,

thank you young lady.

~

I look up,

into the eyes of his friend,

just as mine they were wet with tears.

~

not once, but twice,

it feels right, to express my thanks,

to those that protect my country.

And, to think they thank me! This experience happened to me yesterday.

7 thoughts on “~thank you sir for your service~”

And I thank you for sharing your thoughts! Joe and I always thank veterans and active members of service with a hand shake and a “thank you!” .

I’m so glad you did this. It means so much to these veterans, such a big part of who they are!! Such sacrifice and commitment should be thanked!

Yes indeed, our vets need to be thanked, I also thank them when I see them. They are deeply appreciated.

Wonderful! Thanks for posting this. Such a great tribute to vets on Armed Forces Day. And thank you for thanking our vets! There aren’t a lot of WWII vets left any more.

It’s a simple thing to do and means so much to our Veterans to be recognized! I saw a bumper sticker yesterday; not fond of bumper stickers, but I liked this one. A flag; underneath “Home of the Free BECAUSE of the Brave” says it all for me!

Thanks Sheila, for sharing your experience of yesterday. In airports around the country it’s often possible to “thank” lots of military personnel as they travel on commercial airlines in uniform. I’ll remember to stop more of them on my way to my departure gate, to thank them for their dedication to the security of my country.

I know exactly how you felt Sheila. When we visited the monuments there were many servicemen and women walking the grounds, some being pushed in wheelchairs. I felt honored to be in their presence.