People celebrate Memorial Day, which this year falls on May 27, but most probably don’t realize that this is Military Appreciation Month. Armed Forces Day is on May 18, and Military Spouses Appreciation Day is on May 10. The nation sets aside special days, indeed this whole month, to honor those who serve their country with a willingness to make sacrifices that 99% of us consciously avoid or hardly even contemplate.
But while many never consider military service for themselves, most also admire the military and the men and women in uniform who make it what it is. America’s armed forces, the most powerful in the world and in history, are celebrated grandly at big public events such as football games. But they are also honored in more private acts of appreciation and generosity, such as when soldiers, marines, sailors, and airmen find that their restaurant bill or bar tab has already been paid by another customer who has, as often as not, slipped away quietly, neither wanting nor expecting thanks.
