On Veteran's Day, many restaurants and establishments honor our veterans by providing free meals. Chili's is one of the many restaurants that participates in the celebration. This year, 47-year-old U.S. Army veteran Ernest Walker decided to go there. Walker and his service dog were enjoying his meal when they were approached by a man who appeared to be in his 70s and who was wearing a Trump shirt. The man tried asking Walker a trick question about which unit he was in. Even though Walker passed the pop quiz, that wasn't enough .
The man went on to tell Walker that black people were not allowed to serve in Germany. To further make his case and embarrass Mr. Walker, he went to the back of the restaurant to get the attention of the manager. After being told that Mr. Walker could not be a part of the military because he was wearing his hat indoors, the manager decided to question the veteran. Walker recalled the events on his Facebook page:
"Then the Manager, MR. Wesley Patrick, comes from the same area in the back, walked up, and rudly informs me that a guest said that I was not a real soldier because I had my hat on indoors. Other guests heard him. He asked for my military ID, I was calm, and provided it to him. I also provided him with my DD214 which is my discharge paperwork. At that point he should have just said "I am sorry Sir, thank you for your service' Instead he followed up with "the guest also said your dog is not a service dog." Barack had his Red Service Vest on, and his Certified Service Tags. I was sitting for 35 minutes prior with Barack beforehand. At this point I was grossly offended embarrassed dehumanized and started Recording…Mr. Wesley snatched my food away, made body contact"
After being completely humiliated and dishonored on what we meant to be a special day for veterans, Walker left and shared his story with local outlets. News spread on social media about what happened, prompting a response from Chili's to one Facebook user. "Misty, we are aware of the situation that happened at our Chili’s Cedar Hills location yesterday. Our goal is to make every guest feel special. Unfortunately, we fell short on a day that we strive to honor our Veterans and active military for their service. We have escalated this to the highest levels of our company."
Walker told the Dallas News that as of Sunday, he had not received a formal apology despite Chili's statement that they would reach out to him."I need to be validated publicly," he said."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 said.
According to CBS DFW, Walker and his attorney will meet with management at Brinker International, Chili’s parent company, in Dallas later today.
Hopefully Walker gets the apology he rightfully deserves.
