In any event, I went and the guys and I ate, but I couldnt stop thinking about the older guy. I wanted to go and ask if he had served in a war, because I assumed he had, virtually everyone in his generation served in World War 2, and I thought that maybe Id say thank you or something. I pointed him out to Cory, because he tends to give me the pressure I need to go ahead and talk to somebody. We both were wondering if it was really a good idea though, because there was the off chance that he wasnt a veteran and that would make me feel quite stupid. Finally Cory just said "do it," so I told the guys Id catch up with them in a minute. I walked over to the old man, who mustve been taking a long time to eat, because he had been sitting there when we walked in, when we ordered, when we ate, and then finally when we were leaving. I decided to use my new favorite line for initiating experiments:

 

"Do you mind if I bother you a minute?"

He didnt quite hear me because he hadnt been paying attention. I repeated myself, and he said something like "what do you want?"

I felt for a second that he really didnt need me bothering him, but I figured Id go ahead anyway, so I just asked

"Are you a veteran?" I realized when I asked that that Id heard my grandfather, who served in the Navy, say that to old men he saw at burger king when we went out to breakfast. He could talk to anybody, and he loved swapping war stories with people he didnt know that had served in WWII.

"Yeah, why?" I was kind of afraid that I was just pissing him off. I felt somewhat flustered. I said something like "oh... I kinda... thought you might be... uh..." and finally I came up with what I wanted to say:

"I wanted to know because I want to thank you, because, I enjoy a lot of freedoms today that I wouldnt be able to if it hadnt been for guys like you who served." Alright, so maybe that was somewhat corny or cliche, but hell, I know if I had risked my ass for my country I would at least like for little assholes like myself to recognize it.

He nodded, and I think it was at this point that he realized that my intention was just to be friendly and thank him for what he had done, so he cleared his throat and started talking with me, and I asked him some questions. It turned out not only was he a veteran, but he was a Ranger, and was on the front line for the invasion of Normandy on D-Day. So yeah, Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers? That was this guy, drinking coffee out of a styrofoam cup and fucking McDonalds, talking to me. This guy was the real deal. I tried to listen more than I talked, which led to a few somewhat awkward silences where we both just kind of nodded, but I think that was better than me throwing questions at him nonstop. I explained to him that I had a grandfather who was in the Navy and served in the Atlantic, and how my dad's uncle had served driving a tank with the Marines in Japan.

At some point he said how he was very thankful that he made it, and how a lot of his buddies didnt. "I thank God," he said. I didnt know what to say to any of that, so I basically just nodded and said "yeah" or something.

When I felt like it was a good time I thanked him for talking to me and shook his hand. He turned out to be a friendly enough guy and was happy to answer anything I asked, despite the impression he gave at first. I realize, though, that it wasnt that he was bitter or anything, but hey, he was a Ranger, he doesnt exactly take shit from anybody.

 

I was glad that I had the opportunity to thank someone that I didnt know that had served. Ive been watching that Band of Brothers mini-series lately, and its made me think a lot about the shit that those guys went through. If you havent seen those, by the way, I recommend doing so, they're really good.

 

If you have a family member that served in a war or you see an old man with one of those hats that says that he's a veteran and what division he was in or whatever, consider saying "thank you" or something. I dont mean to guilt trip anybody or anything, but they did go through some serious shit for us.