We can certainly accept the “thank you for your service” and the gratitude we get from Canadians. While most Canadians don't understand anything we do, I think they are highly appreciative.
If you want to put your money where your mouth is, you can pay for our insurance, you can call us war heroes, you can allow me to move my medal over to the other side and you could give Afghan veterans a hero. This is because Canadian veterans deserve a hero, and the government's unwillingness to make heroes out of Afghanistan veterans and give them the Victoria Cross is a political decision meant to keep heroes out of the media. The government doesn't want a hero coming in and changing opinions.