Black veteran has free meal taken away at Chili’s on Veteran’s Day
- 8 years ago
CEDAR HILL, TEXAS — A military veteran taking advantage of a complimentary meal at a Chili’s in North Texas had his food taken away after his service was called into question by a fellow customer.
Ernest Walker proudly served in 25th Infantry of the U.S. Army, Division Tropic Lightning. On November 11, the army vet was waiting for his food with his service dog, Barack. The restaurant offers all active service members and veterans a free meal on Veterans Day as a thank you. The meal took half an hour to be served, and as Walker had to go, he asked the waitress to put it in a to-go box for him.
As he was waiting for his doggy bag, he says an elderly man wearing a Trump t-shirt walked over and questioned him about his time in the military. The man, who himself claimed to be a World War 2 vet serving in Germany, didn’t believe Walker was actually a veteran. A few minutes later, the manager came over and told Walker another guest said he wasn’t a veteran because he was wearing his hat indoors. After providing his discharge papers and his military ID, the manager then told him the guest also said his dog was not a service dog. That’s when Walker started recording the incident on his smartphone. After arguing for the duration of the video, the manager took Walker’s to-go box away and told him to “have a great day.”
Following the unfortunate exchange, Walker posted the video to Facebook, and the story has since gotten back to Chili’s, who have responded saying the situation has been escalated to the highest levels of the company.
So far, Walker hasn’t yet been contacted by anyone at Chili’s or its ownership group, but the two sides are expected to meet this week.
Ernest Walker proudly served in 25th Infantry of the U.S. Army, Division Tropic Lightning. On November 11, the army vet was waiting for his food with his service dog, Barack. The restaurant offers all active service members and veterans a free meal on Veterans Day as a thank you. The meal took half an hour to be served, and as Walker had to go, he asked the waitress to put it in a to-go box for him.
As he was waiting for his doggy bag, he says an elderly man wearing a Trump t-shirt walked over and questioned him about his time in the military. The man, who himself claimed to be a World War 2 vet serving in Germany, didn’t believe Walker was actually a veteran. A few minutes later, the manager came over and told Walker another guest said he wasn’t a veteran because he was wearing his hat indoors. After providing his discharge papers and his military ID, the manager then told him the guest also said his dog was not a service dog. That’s when Walker started recording the incident on his smartphone. After arguing for the duration of the video, the manager took Walker’s to-go box away and told him to “have a great day.”
Following the unfortunate exchange, Walker posted the video to Facebook, and the story has since gotten back to Chili’s, who have responded saying the situation has been escalated to the highest levels of the company.
So far, Walker hasn’t yet been contacted by anyone at Chili’s or its ownership group, but the two sides are expected to meet this week.