9/11 take two

I was standing in the hall talking to an Army friend of mine who happened to be in his nice uniform with all his ribbons and patches and shiny shoes and all and a man came up to him and said 'thank you for your service' and shook his hand.

I saw that my friend, who is a Colonel (about 25 years in) so not exactly new to the Army uniform or the Army for that matter, was gracious but looked a little curious. I broke in, 'what about me!?' and then we all had a nice laugh and the man in the suit walked down the hall. I said to my friend, 'I'm sorry, I hope I didn't offend you'. He is a good natured guy and just laughed at me for apologizing.

So, I asked my COL friend how things like that made him feel. Did he appreciate it, or was it just weird? He said that it made him feel more awkward and that he never really knows how to respond.

It is a strained and somewhat misplaced thanks we often give those who defend our country. We want to thank them, but are not sure how.

A marine was killed in Iraq from my district on Tuesday. I got the casualty announcement today. He was 29.