Dad and I had a late lunch out today. He is a veteran with five honorable discharges and Applebee’s was hosting a free dinner for all veterans and active service men.
We chose to go mid-afternoon in hopes of missing the crowd. Not a chance. The place was packed. As I gave my name to the hostess and she asked if there was a veteran with me, I noted she was keeping track and every name on the list had at least one veteran, and up to four, with their party.
You really don’t realize how many people were and are touched by our armed forces. I saw hats on veterans stating they were from WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Didn’t see any Iran, Gulf or Afghanistan but I bet there were many among the crowd.
Dad and I both thought how wonderful this meal was for the many we have heard of that are homeless veterans. We hoped they had heard about it too.
How incredible that Applebee’s and many other restaurants chose to honor our men and women with military backgrounds. I saw total strangers thanking the older veterans for their service.
Another really impressive act was that the restaurant had worked with the local schools to have the children make thank you cards for the veterans. We whiled away the time waiting for a seat by reading through a handful of these cards with sentiments that made your eyes tear up. These were children that are being taught to appreciate the sacrifice these wonderful men and women had made to keep this county free.
The afternoon was spent among friends we didn’t know, eating a dinner that was hosted by people we didn’t know, but we were all one community, one nation under God.
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