Thanking an Iraqi Vet

When someone tells me that they serve/d our country, I find myself saying “thank you.” I don’t know what else to say.

A man in my accounting class mentioned that he served in Iraq for about a year. I thanked him.

Seeming uncomfortable, he shrugged it off. “Don’t thank me,” he responded.  

“Why not?” I asked him, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“It was really a waste of time. Your tax dollars are paying for the war and now my education, but I didn’t do anything. We didn't do anything. We weren’t there because of terrorists. We went to war for something else.”

“For what?” I questioned, but I already knew the answer.

He didn’t respond.

“For oil,” I said quietly.

He nodded and said, “Yes.”