They're seen with soldiers, say, getting George Cross: happy times (7)
I believe the answer is:
eggcups
'they're seen with soldiers' is the definition.
(thin slices of toast dunked in soft boiled eggs)
'say getting george cross happy times' is the wordplay.
'say' becomes 'eg' (short for 'exempli gratia', 'for example' in Latin).
'getting' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'george cross' becomes 'GC' (abbreviation for the medal).
'happy times' becomes 'ups' (as in 'ups and downs').
'eg'+'gc'+'ups'='EGGCUPS'
(Other definitions for eggcups that I've seen before include "Items of dishware at breakfast" , "Items of crockery at breakfast" .)