Chili’s restaurant chain has issued an apology statement to Ernest Walker, a veteran of the U.S. Army, for taking away a free Veterans Day meal even after he presented paperwork to prove he served in the armed forces.
A Chili’s restaurant in Cedar Hill, Texas, is under fire for giving Walker, 47, the to-go meal as part of a Veterans Day promotion, then taking it away after another patron claimed that Walker was only posing as a veteran, NBC5 Dallas Fort Worth reported.
Walker told NBC5 he thought an elderly man in a flag T-shirt and wearing a Trump sticker told the manager that Walker wasn’t really a veteran because he was wearing his cap indoors. Walker then provided his military ID and discharge paperwork to the manager, but was still refused the meal. The manager also questioned his service dog, named Barack, even though the dog had a red service vest and certified service tags.
Walker said he served in the Army’s 25th Infantry division from 1987 to 1991. He was wearing a uniform without his name or rank on it so as not to be mistaken for an active-duty soldier, NBC5 reported.
Chili’s released a statement saying they are taking the incident “very seriously and the leaders in our company are actively involved with the goal of making it right.” The statement also said the company was “reaching out” to Walker, NBC5 reported.
"Our goal is to make every guest feel special and unfortunately we fell short on a day where we serve more than 180,000 free meals as a small token to honor our veterans and active military for their service, hence these actions do not reflect the beliefs of our brand," Chili's said in a statement, according to The Dallas Morning News. "We are taking this very seriously and the leaders in our company are actively involved with the goal of making it right."
Walker blamed the encounter on the presidential election, telling the Morning News, "I do believe that the election has changed the hearts and changed the motives of people so much so that he believed in his heart and mind after talking to the Trump supporter that I was stealing food."
Walker confirmed the chain’s efforts, telling NBC5, “They’re doing what they should do, but they still haven’t validated me as a soldier. I just need [the manager] to say ‘I see your ID, I see your DD214, and I respect you as a soldier, and as a man and as a customer.’”
Walker has hired an attorney, Kim Cole, who will be meeting with Chili’s corporate on Monday, the station reported.
Walker detailed the encounter in a Facebook post that has been viewed more than 400,000 times and shared more than 6,000 times.
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