Military Sacrifices

In my quaint little Denali world, I am disconnected to the global world. I was reminded of this yesterday when I was comfortably sitting on a plane in seat 9F. I was originally scheduled for 22A, but I requested an open window seat on the F side because it is more comfortable for me to lean to my right rather than my left. Well, while I was sitting there, hopeful that no one else sat on my row, I heard some commotion about a "cripple". I noticed a very nice looking young man coming down the aisle. He was jovial and laughing about being the last one on the plane. As he passed my row 9, I saw that he had a steel leg on his right leg and where his shorts ended on his left leg, there was nothing but air. I felt like I wanted to jump up and hug him, right there.
When we disembarked the plane, there was another young man with two steel legs getting into his wheelchair. I was thankful the flight attendant had said a nice word or two and we all applauded the military personnel on board. When I came down the escalator to baggage claim, I almost tripped over myself. There, at the bottom of the escalator were 20 or so military men, all lined up, at attention to welcome these boys home. I stood at an inconspicuous distance to watch the greeting. I was choked with emotion and filled with gratitude as I witnessed such a sacrifice. But I was bothered as I was left wondering, how can I ever say thank you? Thank you for sacrificing their legs, their freedom, their comforts....for me, the casual enjoyer of their sacrifice.