Lou Zezoff was just minding his own business one day while he and his wife Annette were eating at Cracker Barrel in Granite City, Illinois one afternoon. He didn’t know that what would happen that day would actually leave him in tears.

Mr. Zezoff is a Vietnam veteran and proudly wears his “U.S. Navy Vietnam Vet” embroidered hat. He wears it anytime he goes out.

On this particular afternoon at the restaurant, his hat caught the attention of a group of young men who were sitting near him in the restaurant. Mr. Zezoff said the man and his friends looked like servicemen due to their haircuts. They were “high and tight”.

As Zezoff and his wife were eating their meal, one of the men came up to their table. The veteran stood up as he approached not knowing what was going to happen, but then the young man reached for his hand for a handshake and thanked Mr. Zezoff 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.