Someone paid for my son's lunch

Humey

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My son commissioned in May and is now at Vance AFB for UPT. About three days in , he was having lunch at Subway (wearing his ABU) and right as he was ordering a lady behind him told him that she would pay for his lunch. Honestly he was confused and didnt know what was happening, but he told her he was good and could pay for his own lunch. She kept insisting and he kept saying he was good but after the fourth time he said okay and she said she was thanking him for his service. While he and I appreciate the gesture, I wonder what she would think if he had told her he had only been in the Air Force for three days. She may not have cared, but it kind of makes me laugh although it was really kind and nice of her to do so. Being that his town biggest employer is VAnce AFB, I would have to imagine that seeing guys and gals in military uniforms would be very ordinary, but it nice to see that the folks arent jaded. In anycase, it make you feel good about people
 
DS and some buddies had a colonel pay for their lunch and beers while attending TBS at Quantico. He hadn't been in long either. He also had folks thanking him while a mere midshipman, which he found embarrassing.

My Army Reserve nephew had people pay for his meals quite a bit, when in uniform, and he's near no base. People just want to express thanks in some way, shape, or form. Buying lunch when you see a service member is an easy, yet thoughtful, way to do it... and they usually appreciate it.

I've always told my son that if someone thanks him for his service, the proper response is "It's an honor and a privilege, sir."
 
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While DS was still a cadet on his way to Air Assault school he sat by a Lt Col on the plane. He offered to buy his supper and give DS a ride to Fort Benning from the airport but DS already had transportation arranged and waiting.

One of the nicest things was while DS was on his honeymoon they had a flat tire. Guys at the tire shop saw his army tattoo and changed and fixed it for free.
 
When DD attended STEM couple years ago, they did a field trip to the Smithsonian. At every turn, tourists came up to their midshipmen counselors (many of them just fresh off plebe year) to thank them for their service and ask for photos. She said the mids were visibly embarrassed but graciously complied.
 
Vets today don’t know how good they have it. 50 years ago, most were cursed and spit on when they were seen in uniform. Some ended up with PTSD not from what they saw overseas, but from how they were treated on their return.
 
Vets today don’t know how good they have it. 50 years ago, most were cursed and spit on when they were seen in uniform. Some ended up with PTSD not from what they saw overseas, but from how they were treated on their return.
Its funny how you mention the spitting. I am 56, so I was around that era but way to young then so I neither saw it nor remember it being something they talked about in the news (if they ever did). Many people mentioned this today but I always read that the spitting never happended and no one can actually document it happened. I am of two opinoins about this. One it did happen and those who did it or were in favor of it at them time are trying to bury the past as to not make themselves or their groups look bad. Two, it didnt happen and that would be a great thing. And when I say it never happened, it doesnt mean no one in the US ever spit at someone uniform or not, but rather it was never a regular occurance. As for returning Vets not being treated well, that is a historical fact.
 
Its funny how you mention the spitting. I am 56, so I was around that era but way to young then so I neither saw it nor remember it being something they talked about in the news (if they ever did). Many people mentioned this today but I always read that the spitting never happended and no one can actually document it happened. I am of two opinoins about this. One it did happen and those who did it or were in favor of it at them time are trying to bury the past as to not make themselves or their groups look bad. Two, it didnt happen and that would be a great thing. And when I say it never happened, it doesnt mean no one in the US ever spit at someone uniform or not, but rather it was never a regular occurance. As for returning Vets not being treated well, that is a historical fact.

I have a few years on you, I was stationed in DC early to mid 70's. Spitting was considered a good day although it was not an everyday occurrence. Not sure who would have written that it never happened and since Cell Phone Cameras had not yet been invented, there really wasn't a way to document someone spitting on you at the moment it happened. There were many times the uniform of the day was civilian clothes, depending on the mood of the people, so as not to draw attention. Never quite figured that one out since our haircuts back then were a dead giveaway. One day we went to the Pentagon in our bus, while at a stop light someone spray painted "Baby Killers" on the side of the bus, we found it ironic since the bus clearly said US Coast Guard on the side. At least those that did spit on you had the courage to get close enough to be face to face, what bothered me were those that threw things at us from a safe distance then ran.

It's pretty clear that this didn't happen in every city in the country, there were places we would go and have no issues at all. It would not be hard to have not seen this happening depending on where you were, DC seemed to be a hot bed for this type of thing. By 76 things seemed to get a lot better, we were a couple years removed from Vietnam, the Bicentennial was in full swing and Patriotism was in style in DC, most but a few hard core people had begun to move on to other things and we became less of a target.

To be clear, this didn't happen everyday, I probably had it happen two or three times, but most I knew had it happen at least once.
 
Its funny how you mention the spitting. I am 56, so I was around that era but way to young then so I neither saw it nor remember it being something they talked about in the news (if they ever did). Many people mentioned this today but I always read that the spitting never happended and no one can actually document it happened. I am of two opinoins about this. One it did happen and those who did it or were in favor of it at them time are trying to bury the past as to not make themselves or their groups look bad. Two, it didnt happen and that would be a great thing. And when I say it never happened, it doesnt mean no one in the US ever spit at someone uniform or not, but rather it was never a regular occurance. As for returning Vets not being treated well, that is a historical fact.

I have a few years on you, I was stationed in DC early to mid 70's. Spitting was considered a good day although it was not an everyday occurrence. Not sure who would have written that it never happened and since Cell Phone Cameras had not yet been invented, there really wasn't a way to document someone spitting on you at the moment it happened. There were many times the uniform of the day was civilian clothes, depending on the mood of the people, so as not to draw attention. Never quite figured that one out since our haircuts back then were a dead giveaway. One day we went to the Pentagon in our bus, while at a stop light someone spray painted "Baby Killers" on the side of the bus, we found it ironic since the bus clearly said US Coast Guard on the side. At least those that did spit on you had the courage to get close enough to be face to face, what bothered me were those that threw things at us from a safe distance then ran.

It's pretty clear that this didn't happen in every city in the country, there were places we would go and have no issues at all. It would not be hard to have not seen this happening depending on where you were, DC seemed to be a hot bed for this type of thing. By 76 things seemed to get a lot better, we were a couple years removed from Vietnam, the Bicentennial was in full swing and Patriotism was in style in DC, most but a few hard core people had begun to move on to other things and we became less of a target.

To be clear, this didn't happen everyday, I probably had it happen two or three times, but most I knew had it happen at least once.
One time was one time too many
 
From Wikipedia

"The Spitting Image: Myth, Memory and the Legacy of Vietnam (1998) is a book by Vietnam veteran and Sociology professor Jerry Lembcke. The book is an analysis of the widely believed, but historically inaccurate, urban legend that American soldiers were spat upon and insulted by antiwar protesters upon returning home from the Vietnam War. The book examines the origin of the earliest stories; the popularization of the "spat-upon image" through Hollywood movies and fiction literature, and the role of print news media in perpetuating the now iconic image through which the history of the war and antiwar movement has come to be represented"

"By the time he wrote The Spitting Image, Lembcke had not found a single substantiated media report to support the now common claims of spitting. He theorizes that the reported "spitting on soldiers" scenario was a mythical projection by those who felt "spat upon" by an American society tired of the war; an image which was then used to discredit future antiwar activism and serve political interests. He suggests that the manufactured images of pro-war antipathy against antiwar protesters also helped contribute to the myth. Lembcke asserts that memories of being verbally and physically assaulted by antiwar protesters were largely conjured, noting that not even one case could be reliably documented. He further suggests the "baby-killer" and "murderer" components of the myth may have been reinforced, in part, by the common chants by protesters aimed at President Lyndon Baines Johnson, like "Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?"
 
Humey . . . you and I are about the same age, but I have different memories from watching the news even as a youngster . . . after graduating from the Academy, we were even told to avoid wearing the uniform when on commercial airline travel in the 80s so as to not attract adverse attention . . . things didn't change until Desert Shield/Dessert Storm . . . the anti-war movement tried its schtick at first during DS/DS and got shouted down and had to go underground. I think all I can say is I would take Jcleppe's word as a source over Wikipedia . . . anything else would get too political . . . just sayin'
 
Being cursed at and otherwise verbally derided for being in the military was pretty common in the mid-70's when I first started at USNA.
I grew up in the NYC area and someone wearing a uniform was a magnet for abuse and harassment.
 
Vets today don’t know how good they have it. 50 years ago, most were cursed and spit on when they were seen in uniform. Some ended up with PTSD not from what they saw overseas, but from how they were treated on their return.

1971 as an an 8 year old I was told by my dad to salute any service men or women I saw. I did. I also wore a stainless steel bracelet with George Coker's name a former student of my father and family friend who was in his fifth year as a POW in Hanoi. I seem to remember there was quite a lot of support as well as hate for all service men and women. Like now the country was split politically right down the middle. In the 1970s there was a big push for businesses to don't forget to hire the vet. I do admit there is a very different attitude now vs then of those in and outside the military about respecting those serving their country.
 
My DH, '79 grad, was walking with a couple of classmates in the Springs while attending USAFA.
Someone drove by and shot him in the leg with a pellet gun.
To this day, he still has the pellet embedded in his calf muscle.
 
I essentially got nasty, contemptuous “you’re dead to me” treatment from my college profs in the late 70’s when I told them I was heading to Navy OCS and dumping my grad school grants. There was still a lot of bitter after-taste about Vietnam and the military. Except for one prof, who had been an Army officer - he encouraged me to go, said it would be the making of me, and he would help me with grad school if I got out after my initial obligation.

There has been a vast change in the treatment of veterans by the general public.
 
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