Speaking as a veteran I get a little pissy around these times of the year when people do this sort of thing. I've been thanked enough, I'm all thanked out, thank you. If you want to thank a vet, please save your words and go do something meaningful. Donate money to the USO, donate money to a PTSD charity focused on veterans, hell just go down the your local VFW and buy the old goons there a couple rounds of drinks and listen to their stories. Because words are cheap, anyone can say them, but taking the time to actually do something? Thats worth considerably more. And while we're at it, very little in the last great many years has anything to do with 'protecting our country'. Unless you count our countries' interests (money, oil, commodities, assets; yeah we protect the shit out of that stuff)