This soldier's face says it all.

Former President George W. Bush was at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Wednesday to welcome home about 150 military members returning home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We didn't tell them at all what was going on," the leader of the Welcome Home a Hero group, Patrick McAfee, told CNN. "It was shock and awe when they walked in the double doors."

Of course, you don't have to be a former president to be kind to a soldier. Nine years into our nation's longest war, in Afghanistan, and with nearly eight years of operations in Iraq winding down, many of us still don't know what to say or do when we encounter a uniformed service member at the airport.

That's especially true for the increasing number of Americans who object to the ongoing wars. Some might feel that saying "thank you for your service," is hypocritical. And others just don't know what to say.

But here's a start: "Hello."

Shake their hands. Ask their names. Ask where they're coming from and where they are going.

Share a smile.

Like it or not, the men and women you see in uniform have taken on the responsibility for carrying out a big part of our democratic nation's foreign policies.

The least — the very, very least — we can do is acknowledge them when we see them at the airport.