It the people who never travel and that can't understand why they can't bring a chainsaw on board that drive me nuts, these people are out in droves this time of year.

The good news, well for me at least, is that I don't plan on leaving Medellin until after the holidays or until they drag me out of here kicking and screaming, whichever comes first. lol

What can I say?  I'm cranky today.  Once I get to Medellin I'll probably feel better, lol.

I used to be the GM of a military museum and we had a T-shirt in our gift shop that said the same thing, except we said "thank a veteran" because it includes everybody (soldiers are just Army).

My Dad is also a WWII vet, and served in the Navy for four years in both the Atlantic and Pacific.  He's almost 90 and doing great- I think it's karma paying him back for the fact that he spent the best years of his youth getting shot at while he was three decks below the waterline in the ship's 120 degree engine room.

Fortunately, people are starting to get it.  A wealthy business man in the midwest is personally chartering 737's and flying groups of vets to Washington DC to see the WWII Memorial- all expenses paid.  When my Dad was invited to attend, he couldn't believe that anybody would think to do that for them, and he was even more shocked when the people in the airport clapped as these old men walked off the airplane.  He said it brought tears to their eyes and "made a lot of old vets very happy."

Our museum honored the vets of all eras at monthly special events.  Without exception, they were all extremely appreciative that we gave them an opportunity to share their experiences, and couldn't believe we'd get 5-600 people attending.  Of course, the pleasure was all ours.

The thing I enjoyed the most was watching the faces of the family members as their fragile old father or grandfather was being treated like a rock star by those in the audience.  The people at these events would wait in line just to get their autograph on a book or photograph, or to ask them a question.  Some even wanted to have their picture taken with them.

It was an eye-opening experience for many of the children or grandchildren.  They invariably left feeling very differently about the old man they'd only known as dad or grandpa when they found out his role in the war effort.  In many ways, the vet's legacy is the fact that the children DIDN'T have to know those things.  Because as my father once told me, "nobody is better off for having gone to war."  We're just lucky that some people are willing to serve so that the rest of us can enjoy our lives in peace and comfort.

So yeah, say it often and say it loud.  Because you can't thank them too many times.