Today is Veteran's day. The day we salute our veterans and those active in the military. Something we should do all year.
A nephew who works for Applebee's posted on his Facebook account that they were giving free meals to all veterans and active duty people (I don't know the details). I received an email from Red Robin that they were offering a free stack of onion rings (I can personally attest that these are good). I'm sure other restaurants are following suit.
I'm not going to list all of the ones I know this year. I looked back at my post from last year and reminded myself of a few of them. As I type this, I'm going to say a silent prayer of gratitude and prayer for safety for each of those.
Thank you for what you did and for what you do. Thank you for your service to your country. Thank you for protecting me.
I'm very glad that the tone of this country is to honor our nation's finest. It's what we should do.
3 comments:
Thank you for your thanks!
I was in from June 1970 to Feb 1975. Never got overseas even though Vietnam was still going the first three years I was in. Everyone in my combat engineer class who didn't go to jump school went to Vietnam, while us paratroopers went to Ft. Bragg to a one-of-a-kind unit that had gotten understrength by sending everyone to 'Nam.
Hy-Vee, a supermarket chain in Iowa, gives free breakfast buffet, so that's where we ate this morning. Heading to Applebees later for late lunch. We did the same last year, which was a first for us (I have to pay for my wife, of course).
It is really neat. There were vets from WWII and Korea there, as well as my era and newer. We chatted with a guy who was in from 1958 to 1961 and now suffers from diabetes and his wife has bone cancer. We get a lot more vets around here than most places because of the big Veteran's Hospital in Iowa City.
Glenn, if you have a Red Robin in your area, you should try the tower of onion rings next year. (They make good burgers too).
I think I mentioned this last year, but my step-son was in 82nd also. He joined in early 2001 and was at Ft. Bragg when the towers fell. My wife & I married 18 days later and we weren't sure he would get to come home for the wedding. He managed a 48 hour pass. The day we returned from our honeymoon was the day they started bombing Afghanistan. When I saw the news, I told my wife to call him quickly as they would shut down the phone lines.
He did a tour in Afghanistan and one in Iraq. The army was good to him, but after four years he got out to finish school and start a family.
Glad you have a good day. I imagine you don't have trouble making new friends.
There is a Red Robin in Cedar Rapids, about 30 minutes from me, but we've never been there - just know of it and have passed it many times.
I wasn't in the 82nd at Bragg - we called them "Almost Airborne" for the AA on their patch. I was in the 27th Engineer Battalion (Combat)(Airborne). We were a non-divisional battalion who worked for the Air Force in time of war, building forward airstrips. From the time we left the door, 48 hours later you'd have a runway for C-130s and 72 hrs for F-4s. Never did it in real life while I was in - just war games. By the time I got out we had been placed under the 35th Engineer group as the only combat engineer battalion and the only airborne one. I looked them up on the web a while back and discovered the 35th is now three battalions of airborne combat engineers - I guess the 27th took over the brigade!
Glad to hear your step-son finished his tour in one piece!
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