Do you think my cousin was rude when I wished him a “Happy Veterans Day”?

'Some veterans are ungrateful'

They literally are veterans. Many have anxiety, depression, PTSD, linked to their time in service. Just the reminder of it can ruin their whole day and change their tone. Or maybe he was just having a bad day. Obviously ideally he would say thank you. But you have no idea what he is going though, the trauma linked to that memory you just dragged up, and quite frankly, he has no reason to need to be grateful for you wishing him a happy day when HE is the one who served. He did waaaay more for our country than you did just by taking 2 seconds to send a text- the gratitude and understanding should be coming from your end. Not his- he has done his part. You did nothing outstanding there that deserved gratitude coming from him.

Your siblings are right. You are upset over a text that took 2 seconds. He spent years serving and building up negative experiences. It's like whining about a papercut on your finger to someone with no arm.

I mean obviously it wasn't the politest response, but to an extent, I agree with Lucyy. After going off and serving his country, and very likely experiencing trauma, I think he has a right to be a bit snippy when that trauma is brought up. Its not fair to call him ungrateful for that when he served your country. I think a little bit of empathy here is needed on your part if I'm honest. After all he has done, there's no reason to hold a grudge against him for something that only took you maybe 20 seconds to type out. Everyone is entitled to a bad day, and a veteran having to be reminded of the time that he spent serving is absolutely enough to make it a bad day. And veterans are also definitely entitled to PTSD responses when that's brought up. I don't think it's something he should have to apologize for in order for you to not hold it against him. My Grandpa was in the military, and hearing a loud noise can trigger his PTSD so badly that he can have the whole day be ruined for him, or even a couple of days. That reminder for them can be way more inconvenient that it is for you to just not get the response that you wanted to a text. I would just let it go if I were you, and have a bit of empathy for his situation.

Sounds like he might have been having a bad day. Either that or he's just not a nice person. Let me kno if you're looking for advice. It's free and worth what you pay for it.