Veterans Day Messages: Respectful Thank-You Notes

Veterans Day matters at work and at home. Whether you’re posting a quick Slack note to honor veteran teammates, writing a thoughtful email, or sending a family message that lands with heart, this guide gives you copy-ready lines you can paste (and personalize in seconds). You’ll find office-safe templates, general messages for friends & family, caption-length sends, and a simple framework to customize any note.

Read this first: Veterans Day etiquette

• Observed on November 11. The day began as Armistice Day marking the end of World War I at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
• Not Memorial Day. Memorial Day honors those who died in service; Veterans Day thanks all who served, especially living veterans.
• Spelling: Veterans Day — no apostrophe.
• Tone: Thank first. Keep it apolitical, inclusive, and specific to the person or team.
• Ceremony fact (handy for intros): The National Ceremony occurs at 11:00 a.m. at Arlington National Cemetery.

Quick personalize formula: Name the moment → One true detail → Thanks or momentum.
“Today we honor your service in the Navy—your calm leadership still guides this team. Thank you.”

Office-safe templates

Use these lines in group cards, Slack/Teams, email subject lines, or 1:1 notes. For longer office occasions (promotions, work anniversaries), see related guides like Work Anniversary Messages and Professional Congratulations Messages.

A. For teammates who are veterans

1. Grateful for your service—and for the steady way you lead here.
2. Your service didn’t end with your uniform; your integrity shows up in every sprint.
3. Today and every day, thank you for serving and for mentoring this team.
4. We’re better because you carried hard things with calm and courage—thank you.
5. Proud to work alongside you. Your example raises our standard.
6. Thank you for the years you gave in uniform and the excellence you bring now.
7. Your service protected our freedoms; your teamwork protects our deadlines. Grateful.
8. You bring the best parts of service—discipline, care, mission—to our work. Thank you.
9. Respect for your service, and appreciation for your everyday leadership here.
10. Thanks for the sacrifices you—and your family—made so others could thrive.
11. Your perspective makes us wiser and stronger. Thank you for your service.
12. Honored to have you on this team. Your example inspires us.
13. Because of your service, we get to build freely. We won’t waste the chance—thank you.
14. With respect for your story and gratitude for your work with us.
15. Your quiet professionalism says more than any speech. Thank you.

Planning a group message? Try a shared ecard so the whole team can sign—see our Group Cards flow to keep it simple.

B. From leadership/HR to employees who served

1. To our veteran teammates: your service is seen, valued, and honored today. Thank you.
2. Your courage and commitment continue to shape our culture—for the better.
3. We’re grateful for the freedoms your service protected and the excellence you model here.
4. On Veterans Day, we honor your service and the families who stood with you.
5. Thank you for bringing mission focus, resilience, and care to our work.
6. Your experience strengthens our teams—today we simply say thank you.
7. We’re proud to learn from you and stand with you in gratitude.
8. To all who served: we appreciate your sacrifice and your everyday leadership.
9. We honor your story and the quiet professionalism you bring. Thank you.
10. Thanks for answering the call then—and for showing up with purpose now.
11. Today we pause work to say what matters most: thank you for your service.
12. Your service and perspective make us a better company.

Pro tip: Pair a note with a small act—e.g., company donation to a veteran nonprofit. Keep the note about them, not the brand. For tasteful thank-yous to clients, browse our Thank-You Messages for Coworkers for tone and length cues.

C. For clients, vendors, and partners 

1. Honoring your service today with gratitude and respect.
2. With appreciation for your time in uniform and all you bring to our partnership.
3. Thank you for your service—and for the integrity you model in business.
4. Grateful for your service to the nation and your collaboration with our team.
5. Respectfully recognizing your service this Veterans Day. Thank you.
6. We appreciate your service and the leadership you extend to every project.
7. Honored to work with those who have served. Thank you.
8. With respect for your service and thanks for the trust you place in us.
9. Thank you, and please extend our appreciation to your family as well.
10. Our team is grateful—today and every day—for your service.

D. For military spouses, parents, and families on your team

1. Service asks a lot of families. Thank you for the strength behind the scenes.
2. Your support made service possible. We’re grateful for you.
3. Honoring your sacrifices—the moves, the waits, the long stretches. Thank you.
4. To the families who carried the quiet load: we see you and we’re grateful.
5. Your resilience is felt in the way you steady others at work. Thank you.
6. With appreciation for the courage you’ve shown as a family.
7. Thank you for sharing your story and for the generosity you bring to this team.
8. Respect for everything you navigated—our gratitude is with you today.

E. Slack/Teams-length lines

1. Grateful for our veteran teammates—thank you for your service and steady leadership.
2. Respect and thanks to those who served. We’re better because of you.
3. Honoring our veterans today. Your example shapes our culture in the best ways.
4. To all who served: thank you. We appreciate you today and always.
5. Thank you, veterans—your courage protects the everyday work we get to do.
6. Proud to learn from teammates who served.
7. With gratitude to veterans and their families across our company.
8. You carried hard things so others could build freely—thank you.
9. Honoring your service and the integrity you bring to every sprint.
10. Respectfully thanking all who served, in wartime and peacetime.

Taking time off to attend a ceremony? If you need wording, see Out-of-Office Messages.

F. Longer office notes

1. To our veteran teammates: We’re honored to work alongside you. Your courage and commitment in service—and the steady leadership you show here—make our culture stronger. Thank you, and please extend our gratitude to your families as well.
2. Thank you for your service. You brought mission focus, teamwork, and care into everything you do. We’re grateful for the freedoms your service protected and for the integrity you model on our projects every day.
3. With respect and appreciation: Your story reminds us that service is a team effort that includes families and communities. We see that same spirit in how you mentor others here. Thank you.
4. On Veterans Day we pause to thank you for answering the call. Your example raises our standard—and we’re proud to learn from you.

General messages for friends & family

When you know the person, add one true detail (branch, deployment, role, a story they’ve told). For welcome-style warmth, peek at our Welcome Messages for New Employees to borrow tone for family group chats or community posts.

A. For a friend who served

1. Proud of your service—and the character it forged. Thank you.
2. You answered the call with courage. Grateful for you, my friend.
3. Because you served, we get to dream and build. Thank you.
4. Your discipline and kindness both inspire me—honored to know you.
5. Today we honor your service and the sacrifices behind it.
6. Thank you for protecting the freedoms we live out every day.
7. Your story carries weight and hope. With gratitude.
8. Respect and thanks—for your service and the person you are.
9. You’ve always led with quiet strength. Thank you for serving.
10. Proud to celebrate you today and always.

B. For a parent or grandparent

1. Your service shaped our family’s values. With respect and gratitude.
2. Thank you for standing watch so we could grow up safe.
3. Your story is our inheritance—courage, duty, love.
4. Honoring your service and the years you gave. We’re proud of you.
5. Because you served, our family learned what commitment looks like. Thank you.
6. With love and gratitude for your sacrifices and your example.
7. Your photos tell a chapter of history. Your life tells the rest—thank you.
8. We carry your lessons forward. Happy Veterans Day, with thanks.
9. Your faithfulness under pressure still guides us. Thank you.
10. To the one who served and kept loving well—deeply grateful.

C. For a spouse or partner

1. I’m proud of your service and honored to stand beside you. Thank you.
2. Your courage is matched only by your kindness. With love and gratitude.
3. You carried so much with quiet strength. I see it—and I’m thankful.
4. Because you served, we cherish our everyday moments even more.
5. Today I’m celebrating you: your service, your resilience, your heart.
6. Thank you for protecting what matters and nurturing our home.
7. Your discipline, your humor, your love—I’m grateful for it all.
8. Honored to walk life with a veteran like you.

D. For a son or daughter

1. Proud of the person you became through service—thank you.
2. You served with courage; you live with purpose. Grateful beyond words.
3. Because you served, others have a chance to thrive. Thank you.
4. Your path inspires us all. With love and respect.
5. Honoring your commitment and celebrating your future.
6. Thank you for the example you set for your siblings and friends.
7. We’re grateful for your service and the joy you bring home.
8. Today and always—so proud of you.

E. For a sibling

1. You’ve always had a steady compass—your service proved it. Thank you.
2. Proud to be your sibling and grateful for your courage.
3. Because you served, our family learned resilience. Thank you.
4. Respect for your service and the life you’re building now.
5. Thank you for protecting the freedoms we share.

F. For a neighbor or community member

1. Honoring your service and the care you show our neighborhood.
2. Thank you for serving—and for the way you still serve this community.
3. Grateful for your example. Happy Veterans Day with respect.
4. Your story makes our town stronger. Thank you.
5. With appreciation to you and your family for all you carried.

Short “quotes & captions” you can post anywhere

1. Grateful today. Grateful always.
2. Service is love in motion. Thank you, veterans.
3. Courage. Commitment. Community. Thank you for your service.
4. Because you served, we’re free to build.
5. Respect to those who stood the watch.
6. Your service still shapes our tomorrow.
7. With gratitude for the sacrifices we’ll never fully see.
8. Honor today. Live worthy tomorrow.
9. Freedom isn’t abstract—it’s a gift guarded by service. Thank you.
10. To all who served: we see you, we thank you.
11. Quiet professionalism, loud gratitude.
12. Thank you, veterans—and thank you, families.
13. Your example raises our standard.
14. Duty met. Gratitude given.
15. With respect for your service and the life you lead.

Need more everyday thank-yous beyond Veterans Day? Peek at Client Appreciation Messages and Thank-You Messages for Coworkers for tone and structure.

Branch-aware lines

• Army: Respect for your service and the grit you carried. Thank you.
• Navy: Honoring your time at sea and the steady leadership you bring ashore.
• Air Force: With gratitude for your precision and dedication—thank you.
• Marine Corps: Honored by your example and discipline. Thank you for your service.
• Coast Guard: Thank you for safeguarding lives and coastlines with courage.
• Space Force: Appreciating your service and the mission you carry forward.

Message starters for kids/teachers

• Thank you, veterans, for keeping people safe.
• We appreciate your courage and kindness.
• Because you served, we can learn and play freely. Thank you.
• We honor your hard work and bravery today.
• Thank you for helping protect our country.
• We’re grateful for you and your families.
• Your service makes a difference. Thank you.
• We remember your courage and say thanks.

Teachers planning a class note? Pair with a short card that everyone signs. Browse Group Cards or see simple “team message” starters in our Workplace & Office Greetings Hub.

Longer personal notes

1. With deep gratitude for the way you served and the person you are. Your story reminds me that freedom is guarded by everyday courage and unseen sacrifice. Thank you, and please thank your family for standing with you.
2. Honoring your service today. You answered the call with strength and humility, and you continue to invest those same qualities into the people around you. I’m grateful for your example and proud to know you.
3. Thank you for protecting what matters. Because you served, we get to build, learn, and love more freely. I’m grateful for your courage and for the steady life you lead now.

“Veterans Day vs. Memorial Day” wording you can paste in intros

• “Today is Veterans Day, a time to thank all who served, especially living veterans. Memorial Day, observed in May, honors those who died in service. With respect and gratitude, we honor you today.” 

5-minute personalization playbook

• One true detail: branch, role, base/ship, deployment, years of service, MOS/AFSC/rating (if appropriate).
• One trait you’ve seen: calm under pressure, mentorship, steady leadership, precision, care for people.
• One impact: made our team better, protected freedoms, inspired others, built community.
• Close with warmth: “With respect,” “Gratefully,” “We’re proud of you,” “Thank you—today and always.”

Need help turning details into a line? Start with:
“Because you [specific act/role], we enjoy [freedom/benefit]. With gratitude.”

Add a respectful sign-off

• With respect and gratitude,
• Honored to know you,
• Thank you for your service,
• We appreciate you—today and always,
• Respectfully

Where to use these

• Group ecard: circulate a link for teammates to add short notes.
• Slack/Teams: post one caption-length line + encourage replies.
• Email: choose a longer template and add one true detail.
• Printed card: pick 1–2 sentences and keep it clean.

For other seasonal or office moments, explore Office, Group Cards, or quick lines in our Welcome Messages and Out-of-Office Messages

Closing encouragement

Veterans Day doesn’t ask for big speeches—it asks for sincere gratitude, offered well and often. Use the templates above, add one true detail about the person or family, and keep your message clear, respectful, and apolitical. When in doubt, thank first.

Before you send (quick checklist):

• Spell it Veterans Day (no apostrophe).
• Keep the tone thank-you first, not promotional.
• Add one specific detail (branch, role, trait, impact).
• If your audience needs it, briefly note the Veterans vs. Memorial Day distinction.
• Close with a warm sign-off (“With respect and gratitude,” “Thank you for your service,” etc.).