When people find out that I served in the Marines they often thank me for my service, especially around Veterans Day. I never know how to respond. “You’re welcome,” is way too pretentious. “My pleasure,” would be an outright lie. For the longest time I couldn’t understand why this made me so uncomfortable. I am not ashamed of my service. However, I recognize that other warriors endured far more than I did. I came home intact. For that I am grateful. But I guess you could say there is guilt in that gratitude. I didn’t understand these feelings until I read the words of fellow Marine Robert Leckie.1Helmet for My Pillow. Random House. 1957. LCCN 57010028. OCLC 2538164 Leckie simply stated the obvious. He noted that soldiers exist to insert themselves into the line-of-fire. They don’t go to war to kill, they go to be killed. This is why our mothers weep when we go off to war. They are not weeping for those we might slay on the battlefield, but for us. This is why I cringe when someone thanks me for my service. It’s because the ones who did their jobs fully aren’t here to thank. I’m just a pitiful stand-in for real valor. So when people thank me, I just feign humility and say, “It was nothing.” This too is a lie.