Today I was shopping at Costco with my son when a lady came up to me.  Since I was wearing an Army hat, she asked if I was a veteran.  I said I was.  She said “Thank you for your service, and for my freedom,” and shook my hand.  In the handshake she passed me this coin.

My emotional reaction to this surprised me.  She had to have been a child when I ETSed in 1975.  I believe her thanks were sincere.

That’s not the same reaction I have with people my age.  Due to my Minnesota upbringing, I am polite.  Usually I say something like “Thank you, I appreciate the support.”

But sometimes on the inside I am raging.  I want to scream “WHERE THE (BLEEP) WERE YOU FIFTY YEARS AGO?”  (Yes, technically, almost 51.  I can’t do math when I’m angry.)

It was 17 years after I came home before anyone said “Welcome home, thank you for your service”.  At that point I almost broke down and cried.  It totally caught me off-guard.  I had gone into “Emotional Lockdown” over how hurt and bitter I was about the treatment veterans received at that time.  This is probably fairly common for my age group.  

So if no one has said it to you, let me. To veterans of every time and service:

Thank you for your service, and my freedom. Welcome Home.