I don’t know about you but in my opinion, there is no way to compensate all the brave men and women who risk their lives for our freedom and protection. But we can, however, help them by praying for their safety, reaching out to their families, and supporting them, whether financially or morally.
The sad reality, unfortunately, there are too many military veterans who suffer in silence and are completely forgotten.
When this elderly Vietnam veteran stopped at a restaurant for dinner, he noticed a table of younger guys nearby.
Wearing a “US Navy Vietnam Veteran” cap, 74-year-old Vietnam Navy Veteran Lou Zezoff of Granite City, Illinois, shared his experience of how the five young Marines made him cry.
Lou was with his wife Annette dining at a Cracker Barrel when one of the five young men, who sat at a table close to his, came over and stood over Lou’s table.
“I stood up,” Lou recalled as he came eyeball-to-eyeball with the guy. The young man threw out his hand, thrusting it in Lou’s direction. “I knew they were military by their haircuts — high and tight,” Lou said, explaining how he knew they were service members even though they weren’t in uniform.
Immediately after, a second man walked over to Lou, greeted him, and said: “I want to thank you for all five of us.” Lou thanked him and wished them all good luck in their careers.
Lou nodded in acknowledgment, and they talked briefly. After expressing his appreciation and wishing them well with their military careers, Lou returned to his meal, thinking that was the end of it.
They finished their dinner, then Lou gestured to their waiter for the check. Waving the bill with a big smile on his face, the waiter said, “This is your lucky day.” The waiter informed him that the young men had already taken care of it.
When the smiling waiter handed Lou the receipt, he saw that it had the words “Semper Fi” across the top and “Oorah!” at the bottom. Surprised by the kind gesture, Lou headed over to the men’s table and wrapped his arm around one of them, insisting that they didn’t have to.
Lou was utterly surprised by this unexpected gesture. He came over to the men’s table and put his arm around one of the guys, insisting that they didn’t have to do that for them – they all knew that being in the military doesn’t make one a lot of money. To him, a simple acknowledgment was more than enough. But the guys didn’t mind doing this for him at all.
Watch it here: BellevilleNewsDemocrat/Youtube
Sources: OpposingViews, Positive Outlooks