Lou Zezoff, who was minding his own business was in for something he didn’t expect would happen while he and his wife Annette were eating at Cracker Barrel in Granite City, Illinois one afternoon. What would happen that day would actually leave the man in tears.
Zezoff is a Vietnam veteran and proudly wears his hat with “U.S. Navy Vietnam Vet” embroidered on the hat. He normally wears it whenever he goes out.
This day his hat caught the attention of a group of young men who were sitting near him in the restaurant.
As Zezoff and his wife were eating their meal, one of the men came up to their table. The veteran stood up as he detected that the man and his friends looked like servicemen due to their haircuts.
He wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but then the young man reached for his hand for a handshake and thanked Lou for his service to the country.
But it didn’t stop there. The other men, one by one came up thanking him for his service as well. Then at the end of the meal when Zezoff asked for his check, he learned that it had already been paid by the gentlemen who had just thanked him. On the receipt was written “Semper Fi” and “Oorah”.
According to The Veterans Site, Vietnam veterans are not used to this. Most of us did not publicly identify ourselves as veterans because of the political atmosphere that existed in the country when we came home. It was only after the post 9/11 veterans began coming home to warm receptions that Vietnam veterans began to wear the “gear” identifying them as veterans.
When we Vietnam veterans are acknowledged and thanked for our service, it has a special sweetness to it for us. In this video you will see and hear this “special sweetness” as this US Navy Vietnam veteran tells of the honor and respect shown to him so generously by a group of young, active duty Marines at a restaurant. This is why we love those who have served. This is an unbreakable brotherhood.