In England if you do that, they get quite upset, and think you're patronising them. In my old Brigadiers' words, "we were doing a job, we were paid to do it, some of us did it more willingly than others, some of us very nearly didn't make it at all. We all left someone behind, either on the battlefield or at home. It was our job, and we just did it."

I still say thank you anyway.

LTS