Wondering how to thank a veteran on Veterans Day in a way that feels meaningful? Start by making your appreciation personal and specific. Rather than relying only on a familiar phrase, take a moment to recognize what you genuinely value about their service, sacrifice, or contribution to the community.
Gratitude Can Shift Our Attention
Over the past several decades, gratitude has emerged within positive psychology as an important contributor to well-being. Expressing appreciation can benefit the person offering it in two important ways: it can shift our attention away from thoughts that keep us stuck in emotions such as sadness or anger, and it can create an opening for connection with others.
Appreciation Can Build Connection
Similar principles appear in evidence-based therapies. In Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD, for example, clients practice giving and receiving compliments as part of the work on esteem. This exercise creates an opportunity to reconsider beliefs about one’s own worth and the regard of others by both offering and accepting positive feedback. Similarly, the Gottman Method for couples therapy emphasizes building a culture of appreciation as an antidote to contempt. Appreciation can interrupt patterns of anger and criticism while helping people reconnect.
Ultimately, whether gratitude is an ongoing practice or a single sincere act, it asks us to pause and notice something positive. When we put that appreciation into words, we pass it on to another person, who may feel more seen, acknowledged, and valued.
What Research Tells Us About Gratitude and Well-Being
Research has explored how gratitude relates to well-being, mental health, and social relationships (Wood et al., 2010). Overall, people who experience and express greater gratitude tend to report benefits such as more positive mood, stronger self-esteem, and greater life satisfaction. Gratitude may also help broaden our attention beyond negative experiences. Depression is often associated with negative beliefs about the self, the world, and the future. Gratitude does not erase distress or replace mental health treatment, but intentionally noticing what is meaningful, supportive, or good can offer a different perspective alongside those difficult experiences (Evans et al., 2005).
The benefits are social as well as individual. Gratitude has been positively associated with trust, perceived support, forgiveness, and relationship closeness. At its best, appreciation communicates, “I see what you did and it mattered.” That recognition can play an important role in both developing and maintaining positive relationships.
How to Thank a Veteran in a Meaningful Way
A genuine expression of gratitude doesn’t have to be long or perfectly worded. Taking a moment to think about what you appreciate and why can make a simple message feel more meaningful.
Recognize What May Go Unseen
For veterans and military families, feeling seen and acknowledged can help bridge a gap that often exists between those who have experienced military life and those who have not. Military service affects more than the individual who wears the uniform. Families often experience repeated transitions, separations, uncertainty, and sacrifices that are not always visible to the broader public. A thoughtful expression of gratitude can communicate that military service and those experiences have not gone unnoticed.
Make It Personal
Pause, reflect, and put into words what military service means to you or how veterans have impacted your life or community. When appreciation is personal, rather than generic or expected, it can create a moment of genuine human connection. This recognition may contribute to belonging and reinforce the idea that veterans and their families are valued members of our communities.
Be Specific
Going beyond “thank you for your service” allows us to name what we actually appreciate, whether that is commitment, sacrifice, courage, or service to others. That specificity matters because it transforms a familiar phrase into a personal act of recognition. It tells veterans and military families not only that we are grateful, but that we have taken the time to consider why.
Note: It is also important that gratitude is offered freely, with no expectation of a particular response. For some individuals, receiving recognition may feel meaningful and welcome. For others, it may feel uncomfortable or difficult to accept. That does not diminish the value of the gesture. The benefit of gratitude is not found solely in how it is received, but also in the act of sincerely acknowledging another person’s contributions and sacrifices.
This Veterans Day, Show Your Gratitude
Learn more about how you can turn your appreciation into action this Veterans Day 2026.
Venée Hummel, LCSW
Senior Manager of Clinical Practice and Training
Cohen Veterans Network
Venée has over a decade of experience providing clinical services to service members, veterans, and military family members specifically in the context of treating PTSD, depression, anxiety, and elevated suicide risk. In addition to clinical roles, she has experience in academia, research, training, consulting, and overseeing clinical operations. Venée is passionate about helping organizations and providers be equipped with the tools that provide access to high-quality care and to implement outcome informed evidence-based treatment.
References
- Evans, J., Heron, J., Lewis, G., Araya, R., & ALSPAC Study Team. (2005). Negative self-schemas and the onset of depression in women: Longitudinal study. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 186(4), 302–307. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.186.4.302
- Wood, A. M., Froh, J. J., & Geraghty, A. W. A. (2010). Gratitude and well-being: A review and theoretical integration. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(7), 890-905. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.03.005.