The president of the Chili’s restaurant chain says the manager who took away a veteran’s free Veterans Day meal has been “removed” from the job.
In a statement issued Monday, Chili’s President Kelli Valade also said she personally apologized to Ernest Walker for the manager’s actions and thanked him for his service to the country.
Ernest Walker posted a video to Facebook on Friday of the manager removing his meal at a Chili’s in the Dallas suburb of Cedar Hill. The Army veteran wrote that the meal was removed after another diner questioned the uniform Walker was wearing. Walker says the manager took his meal even after Walker showed his military ID and discharge papers.
Walker says he bought the fatigues after his discharge as a tribute to his service.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Chili’s should give Mr. Walker free meals for the rest of his life. The on looker needs smacked in the face and sent overseas.
The manager probably is an ignorant liberal
Does “removed” mean fired?
More than likely, he was assigned to another site, instead of being fired as he should have been.
It does to people who speak the English language!!
Walker posted the following on Facebook:
“…. he was eating at Chili’s with his service dog, Barack, when an elderly customer wearing a Trump shirt came up to him. “He said he was in Germany, and that they did not let Blacks serve over there,” Walker wrote.
So it was Trump supporter who started the entire fiasco. I guess we need to get used to their ignorant acts of bigotry since that will be the new normal.
your statement is just as ignorant as the diners’. Heck the diner probably got the t-shirt at a Hillary rally so they could pull this kind of stuff and be able to blame it on Trump. By the diners’ statement it shows that he probably never served in the U.S. Army as they were the first service to integrate.
Oh by the way I served 22 years on Active duty with 2 tours in Germany and many others elsewhere. Once the veteran showed his I.D. card he should have received an apology on the spot and been thanked for his service.
LAH, you are correct!
Norman, you are ill-informed and easy to fool, you fool.
TO ME AND A LOT ‘MORE’ YOU ALL
SOUND LIKE LITTLE CRYING KIDS!!
You’re an ignorant moron.
By the way many blacks served in WWII in Germany and elsewhere. Tuskegee airmen? Red ball express? Any of these guys sound familiar to you? Idiot. All heroes and you’re not worthy to kiss their a@@es.
Anybody can get a Trump Tee shirt. A tee shirt dose not mean they are a supporter.
OracleGuy – as usual your facts fit your “Liberal” view of what actually happened when you don’t know what your talking about. Typical Liberal B. S. which is why you clown’s lost the election – say Goodnight Gracie in your case asshole.
Just as we have gotten used to the CONSTANT LIES and deceit from Obama and Killery for so many years, and the one-sided, left-leaning “reporting” of the Liberal Lame-Stream Media. Obama and Killery are both TRAITORS.
My statement is to Oracle guy. I’ll repeat, you’re still a d i c k.
What this article failed to say, is, that the person who complained to the manager, was a 70 is year old white male wearing a Trump t-shirt. Of course it was still up to manager not to act that way, but it was the other person who questioned the veteran status of Mr. Walker
Shocking and outrageous!!… the manager should be demoted to that of a dishwasher and the Veteran should be given free meals for a year!!!
Couldn’t have said it better myself, being the widow of a Marine who was wounded twice in Korea.
You NEVER take away someone’s meal! EVER! He should get free meals for the rest of his life there! That is outrageous! That manager should be black balled from ever working in a restaurant again, or any job where you serve the public! Definitely NOT a people person! Shame on them!
The manager should have known better than to listen to someone that may not know what they are talking about. I’m glad to chain restaurant’s president took steps to make this right.
Right and the first indication of that would be the Trump tee shirt.
I went into a chain diner on Veterans Day about 3 PM. When I asked for the Veteran’s meal or discount, I was told that it didn’t start until 4 PM I told the cashier that my time in a foxhole was 24 hours per day and it never started at 4 PM. Later, the manager came to my table, picked up my check and said, “Your meal is on me. Thank you for your service. No more will we set time limits.” I will certainly dine there again.
Cool story. What was the chain that you dined in?. Kudos to the Manager. If they have a location in my area
I will spend my dinner money there. THANKS.
As a veteran, I am appalled at the behavior of some people.
Not only should he reverie free meals, but Chili’s should put him in charge of classes on how to treat our vets when they come into any restaurant. If it weren’t for our veterans where would we all be? Show respect.
Good idea. The Left pushes “sensitivity” classes so that we straights don’t offend homosexuals, transgenders, Muslims, etc. Chili’s should be required to attend classes on treating Vets with respect.
Everytime this happens (too frequently) it makes me sick, these Vets deserve our ENDURING friendship- they fought for us !! Free meals should be delivered to their homes to make up for STUPID managerial decisions. Who hires these yellow, take your food away mgrs. in the first place? Quit antagonizing our fighting men, now.
Things going on in this nation are appalling. It is apparent that there is a total lack of respect for anyone. These “protesters” are
living proof that they feel entitled to disrupt our country. If it wasn’t for our veterans they would not enjoy the freedoms that they have. We owe it to our veterans to respect them and show them our gratitude. A free meal is a very small thing compared to the heavy price they have paid on our behalf. Many have paid with their lives.
Not sure if all the facts are here. From the video I saw, the guy did not have a military ID, just papers, that anyone could have made up. Also, from what I saw and read and there may be more, this is supposedly a WWII vet, looked awful young to have been in that war, some 7 decades ago. All in all, since they served him, should have let him eat. However and unfortunately, there are scammers out there who will do anything to be treated like a Vet, stolen honor and all.
There are bad apples everywhere. But don’t let that sway your opinion about the veterans.
There are some of us who served in the QM corps and only supplied the fighting troops with
neccesary items like rations, gear, removal of injured from the field, etc.
Noone is more deserving than our vets. All the freedoms we enjoy are do in a large part to them. I would like to know how chile’s makes amends for this horror. I will not patronize Chiles, and tell my organization, rotary international to do the same. This is just tragic. Trump is so right in his quest to support our vets. They deserve our gratitude all year, not just on veteran’s day. This story ruined my day. Hope people will realize how important our vets are, and treat them with the dignity and respect they deserve.
Do not be so quick to judge the company because of one fired manger.The company cek took action to correct it which is a good sign of a good company.
Chili’s manager did the right thing. Fired the man, apologized to the Vet and made sure he got his meal. Could have tossed the onlooker out but that would have possibly denied a different Vet.
Sorry–Chili’s President did the right thing, not the manager.
8 years of Obama? His legacy continues, we are now having to deal with the same old issues of the 1960 era and the expansion of hate and obligatory like never before, very sad. Obama had the opportunity to unite however he chose to take a different path.
AS A VEIT VET THAT HAS IN JOYED A FREE MEAL FROM APPLEBEE’S FOR THE 3RD YEAR INA-ROW I SAY THANK YOU! AND THANK YOU TO THE SCOUTS THAT MET US AT THE DOOR WITH HAND WRITTEN NOTES OF THANKS.THIS AFAR CRY OF THE GREETINGS I RECEIVED WHEN I GOT OFF THE PLANE IN SAN DIEGO. I PERSONALLY WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN SO NICE TO CHILLI’S I WOULD HAVE PAID MY BILL GOT THE NAME OF THE PERSON THAT MADE THE SLANDEROUS REMARK AND I WOULD HAVE SUED THE HELL OUT THEM.
As a 27 year Marine-Naval vet, Vietnam service/bronze star recipient, I’m still reluctant to accept “free meals” in any capacity, except at a Legion Post, or at a bonafide Veteran’s luncheon/dinner. I’m also leery about “vets” whose credentials don’t seem to match their age (as someone mentioned above). All it takes is one “less than honorable” person showing themselves in public, then it negatively impacts the rest of us. Unfortunately, most “civilians” have no idea what we did or went through. So, as a result, they are “mentally neutral” to us and always seem to doubt who and what we are. You might find this hard to swallow, but I really DON’T like the phrase “thank you for your service”………….it makes me think of the phrase “….your call is important to us, so please stay on the line” (mechanically quoted by an AI). It’s “mechanical” and “staid”. Most vets, myself included, would rather have someone to “talk to us”, thanks us, SINCERELY, ask us what Service we were in, and/or what we did. Many vets are single, now, alone, have sickness not covered by the VA, poor, and could use a “real friend”,…..pardon me for saying this, rather than a “free meal”. Maybe these “chain restaurants” would do better if they had a Veterans Day Celebration, where vets were invited in for a real “celebration of their service”, than merely a free meal…….just my take on this.
I agree with you Doc, as an old nave veteran I do nothing to publicize my service. I want no free handouts or recognition. I did what I did for love of country. I neither expect or want any recognition, i even feel embarrased when I am thanked for my service. I prefer to remain anonymous.
Afterthought………..where the main event on Veteran’s Day is the Veterans,…rather than just being a “come on in” ad to foster business at that “chain”. Or, maybe that’s me being too harsh….but I’ve seen a lot of Vet slandering and “baiting” in my time on this planet. I’m happy/satisfied what I did/contributed to this country, but some vets are still ashamed/doubting of themselves, hence my thoughts on making them “friends”.
Thanks for allowing this :”post”.
Hi Doc,
My Dad, who’s gone now, was a ‘lifer’ in the USMC. He was a Pearl Harbor Survivor and a veteran of the Korean War. I know that many of our military personnel feel just as you do; I know that my Dad certainly did. He had 3 children but I was the only one who ‘wanted to know’ what he’d been through. He was reluctant to share very much and even at my young age I understood why. Having to kill another human being, even in your own defense (and the defense of your country) is never easy. My Dad would be 95 this year, and like you he really didn’t care for the ‘thank you for service’ littany. Please know that you ARE appreciated and perhaps people don’t ask questions because the memories may be too difficult for you to re-visit. When I see a Veteran these days, and we have many in our small town, I simply say, “May I?” and then I give them a hug. God bless you and here’s a hug from me O! BTW, my Dad had his dress blues and his winter greens as well as his summer uniforms when he was given his honorable discharge, along with his military ID that was good for life.
Have to love this new America
For crying out loud.
It’s just food.
If the man showed id..why
Put yourself in an
Embarrassing situation.
He already had the food.
I know its pretty scarce…but
Use some common sense.
The fellow who made the false accusation should be declares persona non grata at Chili’s. The manager who acted on the false accusation should be fired. Whoever wrote the story and included the part about the Trump t-shirt should be out of the news business. People should stop saying “Thank you for your service”. Chili’s did a nice thing having this dinner; veterans need not pick at each other. It is not uncommon for veterans to question someone new who shows up but in this case it indicates derangement on the part of the guy who made the unwarranted accusation.
Jim
The fellow who made the false accusation should be declared persona non grata at Chili’s.
I’m a Marine vet, but all of my service time was in peacetime. No wars/combat on my record. I was also support personnel, so it would have been less likely for me to be in combat even in wartime. The percentage of US population having served in the military is dwindling to a small number. Few people in our workforce and population know anything about the military. I once heard a man claiming to be a Marine vet talking about wearing fatigues. Of course, the Marines call this uniform utilities. So I knew better. But few other bystanders would know the difference.
Being a former VET. USMC I never went out to get a meal on vet.
day, after I had a fling at Golden Collar there we went and was told that the meal was not to start tell 7:00 PM it as 5:05 PM when I was in a foxhole in Korea they did’nt say wait 2 hours.
All I can say is be kind to one another,and it will come back in many folds!!!!!