10 Military Gifts for Veterans and Active Duty Soldiers

Gifts for the people in our lives can be hard to buy. Sure, your friend may like Mexican food, but is a gift card to her often-visited taco stand, a good gift? You could drive in the safe lane and get them something like gift cards to businesses they normally patronize, or you could go with the mother-of-all generic gifts; a Visa or Mastercard gift card that they can use anywhere.

Gift givers might think that they will run into unique challenges when they are gift shopping for veterans or active military personnel. But veterans, active duty and Guard and reserve personnel, aren’t really difficult to shop for with a little thought. Their adventurous, on-the-go lifestyle can offer a wide array of choices for military gifts.

To help you pick great military gifts for that special military person or veteran in your life, we’ve created our top 10+ military gifts guide, with items listed in no particular order, to help find a great gift for someone who is celebrating a birthday, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Veterans Day, Christmas—you name it.

1. Patriotic T-Shirts

USAMM recently has expanded its t-shirt selection and added many different types of t-shirt designs to its collection. We offer designs you will not find anywhere else, so toss those old style veteran and patriotic t-shirts and check out our full collection.

USAMM offers everything from veteran t-shirts, to t-shirts for Christmas, Thanksgiving and even Halloween. If you can think of a holiday or event, we likely have a t-shirt for it. 

In addition, our custom t-shirts are made of 4.5 ounce 50/25/25 poly/combed ring spun cotton/rayon. They have shoulder to shoulder taping, a side seam, crewneck and they come in multiple unisex sizes like small, medium, large, extra large, two-extra large and triple-extra large. 

All of our t-shirts are designed and printed in the United States and they are made by USAMM right here in Killeen, Texas. We pride ourselves in printing our original designs on high quality, comfortable t-shirts.

Our shirts will your keep your vet cool and fit them right. 

2. Battle Mug

The military culture loves its coffee and there is no better way to drink a steaming hot cup of joe than in a Battle Mug. The Battle Mug is machined from a 10.5 pound solid bar of 6061 T6 billet aluminum into a two pound sculpted American made work of art.

The Battle Mug’s Picatinny rails allow optional handles, one of which can be fitted with an optional lid, and other tactical gear to be attached. Battle Mug features a M1913 Picatinny 3-rail interface system which allows the operator to mount a standard issue M4 carry handle, tactical light, laser device, holographic sight, or any tactical device imaginable for your operations. Why not? This is one of those sturdy military gifts that a person can use for the rest of their lives and hand down as a family memento.

We also carry the smaller version known as the Combat Cup. It is a smaller companion to the original Battle Mug for those who don’t need the 26-ounce capacity of the original Battle Mug. The Combat Cup with M1913 Picatinny Rail System is also manufactured in the same high tech CNC facility, and is precision machined from six pounds of solid billet aluminum into an American Made work of art. A series of processes from CNC sawing, multi-axis turning, five-axis milling, skilled hand worked craftsmanship, and mil-spec Type III hard anodizing creates the ultimate compact tactical drinking device. Best of all? Battle Mug products are 100 percent made in America.

If you've not checked out the Battle Mug, you need to. These make awesome military gifts.

3. Service Pride Clothing

Whether your gift recipient served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force or Coast Guard, there are tons of wearable military gifts that allow them to show their service pride, everything from hats to hoodies to patriotic t-shirts.

The key here is to ensure you are buying the right size. Hats can be easy if you look for one-size-fits-most, adjustable hats. Shirts and hoodies can be a little trickier, but there are ample ways to learn a person’s size without them knowing what you are up to.

Hats are great and USAMM carries a wide array of products for every branch of service. We offer Navy caps that are fully customizable and you can order a hat for any ship you have ever served on. We have Army caps that are MOS-specific, but we also have division specific hats as well as campaign specific hats. As mentioned we have Army and Navy hats, but we also have hats for most branches including the Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. 

4. Shadow Boxes or Display Cases

Most military personnel and veterans are pretty humble and likely have their military medals and badges tucked away in a box somewhere. Shadow boxes and display cases make great military gifts because they allow the service member or veteran to organize and display their military awards and decorations.

Even if they insist that they won’t mount them up on the wall, these military gifts are a great choice because they enable the person to at the very least organize their military awards and mementos into an appropriate storage container that can become a part of a family’s heirlooms.

USAMM has a variety of shadow box options that make great gifts. You can buy them empty or have them pre-assembled. Whatever choice you make, the veteran in your life will be appreciative of the gift.

5. BenShot Glasses

These are officially licensed U.S. military glassware. Raise a toast with drinkware that honors service and strength. These glasses have hand-embedded real bullets and come in a variety of designs. They are available in 11 ounce glasses and two ounce shot glasses featuring lead-free .308 caliber copper bullets.

The 16 ounce pint glass features a solid copper .50 BMG bullet. Some glasses feature authentic military logos and each glass is permanently laser-etched with an official branch emblem. These are handcrafted in the USA and every piece is individually made by skilled glassmakers.

Precision Copper Bullets are CNC machined from solid copper by Lehigh Defense in Clarksville, Texas. This drinkware makes an amazing gift and one that you can use to toast your veteran. They are gift-ready, heavy, durable glasses that arrive in protective packaging, perfect for veterans, service members, or proud supporters.

Distinctive, durable, and patriotic—this glassware pays tribute to the indomitable spirit of the U.S. military.

6. Tactical Gear

Along those lines, if you have an avid rifle and gun sports enthusiast you are shopping for, tactical gear can make great military gifts.

They key is to ensure you know what you are shopping for. Makes no sense to buy someone a holster when they don’t own a pistol, so get informed before you go shopping, especially when you are talking about firearm accessories.

Things like holsters and slings can be pretty specific to the model of weapon owned, so maybe it is safer to purchase something like targets, eyewear or even ear protection.

7. Gifts for the Home Office

With many Americans working from home these days a lot of investment has gone into improving home offices. If you have a veteran in your life with a home office, there are a lot of military gifts that can make their home offices have a nice touch of military culture.

Lamps, paperweights, posters, and drinkware can all bring a nice service pride touch into any home office, as can custom plaques.

8. Golf Gifts

There are a lot of military bases and many of these installations have golf courses. Odds are pretty good that the person you are shopping for is either an avid golfer or likes to hack at a ball every few months.

That’s what makes golf gifts one of the best military gifts. Balls stamped with unit insignias, golf attire, and golf towels are all great military gifts.

USAMM has expanded its golf collection. Make sure to check it out and find a great golf gift for the vet in your life.

9. License Plates

We've got a wide assortment of license plates and license plate frames that help your veteran show their military pride. If you're considering purchasing a license plate, make sure to consider if the state that the veteran lives in requires front and rear license plates. If two license plates are required, consider purchasing a license plate frame instead, but gifting a license plate isn't a huge risk because vets can hang them in their office, garage or barracks room rather than place them on their vehicle. 

Our selection of plates and frames even includes our newest branch of service, the U.S. Space Force. Our Space Force license plate frame will help the Guardian in your life show off their service pride for belonging to the most unique military branch in the U.S. Armed Forces.

The license plate frame is built from durable metal and designed to withstand weather, road conditions, and daily wear. It has bold engraved lettering that reads  “United States” displayed on top and “Space Force” on the bottom in clear, embossed font. The frame is standard universal fit and will wrap around most U.S. standard license plates (6" x 12"). They are easy to install with pre-drilled holes which allow for quick and secure attachment to any vehicle.

10. Lapel Pins

Some veterans are proud, but humble, and prefer to show their service pride in a low-key manner. Lapel pins make wonderful gifts for those types of veterans who want to express their service, but not draw too much attention to themselves.

USAMM has a very large collection of lapel pins to chose from for all branches and for various awards. For example, for the Marine combat veteran in your life, you can gift them the Combat Action Ribbon lapel pin which they can wear with business attire or on their favorite hat. 

The Combat Action Ribbon (CAR) is an award for Navy and Marine Corps personnel who render satisfactory performance under enemy fire while actively participating in a ground or surface engagement. Created in February of 1969, it was originally retroactive to March 1st, 1961 to personnel who met the requirements. However President Bill Clinton changed this requirement to December 7th, 1941 to include all personnel who participated in World War II.

Got a U.S. Army retiree in your life? They would likely appreciate the Army Retired lapel pin which commemorates retirement from the U.S. Army after at least 20 years of service or medical disability. Or maybe there is a veteran in your life who participates in military events each year, so a POW/MIA pin might be a great gift them that they can use on their hats or lapels.

11. Lanyards

They're a thing. Lanyards in the past few years have grown in popularity and people love these things. Lanyards make it easy to keep track of keys and ID or access cards, but they also make a statement about who you are and what you belong to. USAMM's lanyard collection is second to none. We offer lanyards for every branch of service including the U.S. Space Force.

However, it doesn't stop there. We have lanyards for Vietnam veterans, Operation Enduring Freedom vets, and even lanyards for famed Army divisions like the 10th Mountain.

Our lanyards have words and logos silk screened onto them with a split ring and an easy to use side release buckle.

12. Gift Cards

If all else fails, and you can’t find a gift that you’re 100 percent jazzed up about, consider a gift card that will allow your military loved one to pick whatever military gifts they want.

If they are still on active, Guard or reserve duty, they can possibly purchase themselves a much needed uniform item, like a new ribbon rack, or maybe they can use it to get themselves some service pride stickers for their car or truck.

The most important thing to remember is that you actually remembered to get that special military person in your life a gift and no matter what you purchase, it is sure to make them happy.

Pro Tip: You can combine some of these gifts instead of just getting one item. For example, get several smaller items and make it a themed gift set. Rather than just buying a t-shirt, you can buy your veteran a t-shirt, lanyard, hoodie and a shot glass that is all stamped with their branch of service. This well-thought out gift set will bring a smile to any veteran's face.