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This is something that is not said nearly enough.
A few years ago, i was working at a youth camp, and given the responsibilty of comming up with a closing for their campfire program. I chose to do a flag retirement to end the night. I started off talking about the history of our flag and then called any veterans who were with us that night to come forward and tell us when and where they served. We thanked them for their service to our country and then recognized those who were no longer with us because they had lost their lives in service. We fired 21 volleys while naming different battlegrounds where brave men and women had fought and died in service to our country, and then retired the flag.
Following this, one of the older veterans who was with us that night came up to me and said that this had been the first time that he had ever been thanked for his service in front of a large group of people. I found this very moving, that for as many ribbons we see tied, or magnetic stickers attached to vehicles, all of us who will turn out and stand along a parade route, pledging support for our forces, that this man had never been publicly thanked for his service.
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