Chick-fil-A Honors Their Favorite 92-Year-Old WWII Veteran with Free Meals for Life
What would you do if your favorite restaurant offered you free meals for life? I’d probably do a little happy dance if it were me.
One veteran responded ever so humbly when he was honored this Veterans Day. A 92-year-old WWII veteran named Ernie loves his local Chick-fil-A in Avon, Indiana.
According to Fox 59, Ernie has been eating at this Chick-fil-A almost every day for a year. “I like nuggets,” he happily told the news outlet.
“And if you want a good one, this is the place to come,” he continued. The 92-year-old likes to keep it simple, ordering a nuggets kids’ meal with a root beer each time.
According to Ernie, Chick-fil-A has “the best root beer in town.” Well, now Ernie is going to be seeing as much of that root beer as he wants.
The man isn’t only a loyal customer — he’s also formed friendships with the staff and management. They look forward to seeing him come in and wanted to thank him for his loyalty and service.
“All of us take turns sitting with him and eating with him,” team leader, Amy Chambliss, told Fox 59. “We just enjoy his company.”
I bet they’ll be seeing a lot more of his company now, too. A live video on Chick-fil-A Avon’s Facebook page revealed just what this restaurant thinks of their favorite vet.
Executive Director Melissa Luebbert, along with store owner Chris Tincher and employee James Cooke, sat down with Ernie on Nov. 12.
Together they told Ernie they’d like to honor him. First, Tincher presented him with a Chick-fil-A military service coin.
But the best part came when Tincher shared an idea Cooke had. “James came up with a really good idea as we were thinking of how to honor you,” Tincher said.
“He said, ‘What if when Ernie came in, he never had to pay for Chick-fil-A again, when he came to our restaurant?'”
A great idea, indeed. What a way to thank this man for his service. Ernie, of course, was a little shocked and even admitted to Fox 59 he didn’t think he “really deserved a free meal.”
Seems he’s the only one who feels that way, though. Turns out Tincher is a vet too and understands the sacrifice people like Ernie have made.
Ernie served in Japan when he was just 18 years old. His years of service and dedication have earned him more than he knows. Still, he likes the kids’ meal best, even though he’s been told he can order anything he likes.
Thank you for your service, Ernie. And thank you, Chick-fil-A Avon, for setting an example. Your act of kindness, respect and honor is what Veterans Day is all about.
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