Instagram Friendly's and TGI Friday's are offering Veterans Day 2019 free meals.
Friendly’s and TGI Friday’s are both offering a special on Veterans Day 2019 for those who have served their country.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, at TGI Friday’s, on Veterans Day, “Military guests with a valid military ID will be treated to a free lunch menu item up to $12 on November 11, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m….Call your local TGI Fridays for details.” Some locations have slightly different hours. For example, the TGI Fridays in San Bernardino, California is running a special veterans menu that gives veterans a free meal between 11 and 3 p.m. The TGI Fridays in Phoenix, Arizona has five entrees for free for veterans from 11 to 3 p.m. The TGI Fridays in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is also offering veterans entrees for free until 3 p.m.
“Today, we raise our stripes in gratitude for our nation’s veterans, especially our own. Your spirit of service shines in interactions with employees and patrons alike. Thank you for your service. #PeopleOfAllStripes #FridaysFamily,” TGI Fridays wrote on Twitter.
Friendly’s is also offering a Veterans Day 2019 special: A free meal for veterans and active military personnel with a military ID or honorable discharge card, Delish reports.
“For breakfast, veterans can personalize their Big-Two-Do Breakfast meals which consist of your choice of two strips of bacon or two sausage links and a side of two made-to-order eggs, all accompanied by a cup of coffee,” the site reports.
“We’d like to show appreciation for all of our military veterans and service members tomorrow and say ‘thank you’ in a small way with an All American Burger. Veterans and active service members can enjoy a FREE Big-Two-Do or FREE All-American Burger meal on Veteran’s Day!” Friendly’s wrote on its Instagram page.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has a blog that lists many Veterans Day 2019 deals and specials. You can find it here.
Veterans Day 2019 falls on Monday, November 11, 2019. According to Federal Pay.org, Veterans Day is a national holiday. Veterans Day “is one of ten federal holidays recognized nationwide by the United States Government,” the site says.
Veterans Day Was Originally Called Armistice Day Because It Was Designed to Honor World War I Vets Initially
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According to Syracuse.com, Veterans Day was first called Armistice Day. The holiday as we know it came decades later, in 1954, when President Dwight Eisenhower signed a bill changing the name. It was now designed to honor “all members of the U.S. armed services.” Originally, the holiday was in remembrance of World War I, but obviously other wars unfolded and people thought those veterans needed remembering too.
The choice of November 11 is very specific, and it’s wedded to World War I again. There are other remembrances around the world that hold November 11th as a significant date. For example, according to Syracuse.com, Remembrance Day marks the end of World War, which concluded “on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.” Remembrance Sunday is an event that celebrates Remembrance Day on the Sunday before the holiday. Here’s a photo from a London Remembrance Sunday event in 2019:
Military veterans prepare to parade as they take part in the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph on Whitehall in central London, on November 10, 2019.
According to Military.com, the original holiday honored World War I veterans only but was later expanded to all people who have served in the U.S. armed forces. The original language said that Armistice Day was “dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be hereafter celebrated and known as ‘Armistice Day.'”
However, there would be more wars, sadly, and after World War II and the Korean War, there was a move to expand the day to honor all veterans.
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