November 25, 2025
What to Say When Someone Says Thank You for Your Service
As Thanksgiving approaches, many of us pause to think about gratitude. We think about the people who make us who we are, and what it means to feel safe, supported, and connected. It is also a time when many service members and veterans find themselves on the receiving end of a familiar phrase. Someone shakes your hand or looks you in the eye and says the words they truly mean: Thank you for your service.
For many, it is a moment of warmth. For others, it can be uncomfortable or hard to absorb. Not because the gratitude is unwelcome, but because it can be difficult to reconcile public appreciation with personal experience. Service often feels like duty, purpose, or simply the job we signed up to do. It can feel strange to be honored for something that, in our minds, was an obligation and a privilege.
Yet the phrase continues to matter to people who say it, and finding the right response is not always easy. This year, as we think about gratitude and what it means to serve, there is a simple, powerful way to answer: You were worth it.
This simple, yet effective reply is a great way to acknowledge the sentiment and reconcile the appreciation with our own unique experiences of serving.
The Complexity Behind Praise
When someone offers thanks, it is almost always given with sincerity and respect. What many people may not realize is that the moment can also carry weight. For service members and veterans, the instinct is often to deflect, redirect, or say something brief. Many are unsure what to say back because the service was not performed for praise.
There is also the reality that service comes with complexity. There are deployments, separations, loss, and moments that stay with someone long after the uniform comes off. These experiences do not always align neatly with a quick thank you exchanged at an introduction, in a restaurant, or at a community event.
A WWII Veteran’s Answer
The reply of “You were worth it” comes from a story told by Col. Nicole Malachowski, USAF (Ret.). She was speaking with a World War II veteran who had been thanked for his service. He shared that he answered with three words that landed with unexpected clarity. You were worth it.
Col. Malachowski said that this simple phrase went straight to the heart of what so many veterans and service members feel. “We gave to our country and wore our nation’s uniform and went into hard places and did hard things because our country is worth it,” she explains.
Why It Resonates So Deeply
The response honors the gratitude being offered while reinforcing something deeper. Service is not about applause. It is about the people, communities, and values that were defended.
The phrase is powerful because it speaks to intent. Veterans do not serve for recognition. They serve because someone else’s safety, freedom, and opportunity matter more than their own comfort.
Responding with “You were worth it” offers something deeper than a polite answer. For many veterans, it provides a way to redirect praise in a way that feels authentic and grounded. Instead of placing the spotlight on themselves — which can sometimes stir discomfort, humility, or even guilt — it places the emphasis back on the values, people, and convictions that motivated their service in the first place. This subtle shift matters.
It lets the veteran accept gratitude without feeling that they are being elevated or idealized as individuals. Many see themselves as regular people who answered a call, not heroes. By focusing on the worthiness of the mission and the people they served, the response becomes a bridge. It honors their service without forcing them into the uncomfortable space of personal praise.
In that sense, “You were worth it” is more than a phrase. It is a way for veterans to reconcile external appreciation with internal humility. It allows them to receive gratitude while staying aligned with the purpose, duty, and commitment that guided their service. It affirms the motivation behind the uniform, rather than the person who wore it, which, for many, makes the gratitude easier to accept and genuinely feel.
A Thanksgiving Message for Today
While there’s no single correct way to respond when someone says “Thank you for your service,” replying “You were worth it” offers not only an option that feels true to the spirit of why we served, but it also honors the tradition from a veteran of an earlier generation, connecting us to the larger legacy of service.
This Thanksgiving, may we continue to thank those who served. And may those who served feel empowered to respond in a way that reflects what service meant to them.
