# Veteran's day freebies
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 11, 2020, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374 "2020-11-11T23:44:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2020, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374/1 "2020-11-11T23:44:35Z")
with all the freebies given away by restaurants, hair salons, etc, how do these places afford it? Do they get tax break? There’s no charity involved.
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### Author:  [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2020, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374/2 "2020-11-11T23:52:06Z")
Marketing, future business from new customers.
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### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2020, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374/3 "2020-11-12T00:07:28Z")
The Pappadeaux seafood restaurant chain is promoting a free appetizer for veterans today, but the offer specifically excludes Jumbo Lump Crabcakes.
Something about that just comes off as chintzy. Maybe they could have designated a separate free appetizer tier for those who served in high-risk locations, making Iraq and Afghanistan vets for example eligible for the crab cakes.
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### Author:  [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2020, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374/4 "2020-11-12T00:19:46Z")
^^ I don’t like that idea, but that’s me.
A vet is a vet, and it shouldn’t be broken down into categories of who served in a more dangerous area or who had the more dangerous job.
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### Author:  [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2020, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374/5 "2020-11-12T01:12:30Z")
I didn’t get anything this year, but I usually get the free Veterans Day meal at Applebee’s. It’s an entrée from a limited menu. It doesn’t include a drink, or appetizers, or desserts. I’m not complaining, but even for the freebie, I’m spending a bit on the soda. I usually see a lot of vets accompanied by family members, who are all paying full price. From my personal experience, observing my fellow diners, I’m betting all of the extra business they get pays for the free meals they give out.
A lot of Veterans Days freebies work like that. They’re more promos than donations.
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### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2020, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374/6 "2020-11-12T02:55:47Z")
> [@TheCuse](#):
>
> ^^ I don’t like that idea, but that’s me.
>
> A vet is a vet, and it shouldn’t be broken down into categories of who served in a more dangerous area or who had the more dangerous job.
To quote Foghorn Leghorn, that was a _joke_, son.
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### Author:  [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2020, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374/7 "2020-11-12T03:24:10Z")
Twitter praise for Applebee’s today. You can’t buy this type of good publicity for any amount of money.
>
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### Author:  [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2020, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374/8 "2020-11-12T11:42:39Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#):
>
> > [@TheCuse](#):
> >
> > ^^ I don’t like that idea, but that’s me.
> >
> > > A vet is a vet, and it shouldn’t be broken down into categories of who served in a more dangerous area or who had the more dangerous job.
>
> To quote Foghorn Leghorn, that was a _joke_ , son.
Sorry about that.
I actually know people who think that people who served during peacetime are not _real_ veterans.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2020, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374/9 "2020-11-12T11:55:21Z")
The thing is, veterans didn’t choose the wars. Take my uncle: He was in the Army in the 1970s, while Vietnam was in full swing… but Uncle Sam said that he was needed in Germany, so to Germany he went.
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### Author:  [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2020, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374/10 "2020-11-12T13:01:54Z")
It’s just another example of a day when a restaurant or a place gives out some particular food or other item. Some restaurants give out free food for veterans on Memorial Day. Some give out food or other stuff to everyone on a particular day or other time period. There are places that give out stuff on Tax Day (April 15th). There are restaurants or other places that give out free flower seeds or comic books or free admission or free shipping or particular days or other time periods. The place gets free publicity. The veteran or whoever will usually have someone else with them, and that other person pays. The veteran surprisingly often decides that they should come back on other days. The restaurants and other places have thought this out and decided that what they lose on giving out free things is made up by what they make in the future.
> **[National Food Days: Where to Eat Free by Month \[2022\] | Direct Auto](https://blog.directauto.com/savings-tips/national-food-days/)**
>
> Hungry for savings? Calm all your cravings! Check out Direct Auto’s free food calendar to find out where and when you can eat for free in 2022.
> **[Veterans Can Get Discounts At These Restaurants This Memorial Day Weekend](https://www.delish.com/food-news/g27584239/memorial-day-veterans-free-meals-restaurant-specials/)**
>
> Claim them with a valid ID.
> **[Freebies](https://www.liveabout.com/freebies-5202149)**
>
> Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch? Learn how to find free samples, find free books and movies, and more.
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### Author:  [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2020, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374/11 "2020-11-12T14:17:51Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#):
>
> or free shipping or particular days
I meant to write “or free shipping on particular days”.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2020, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374/12 "2020-11-12T14:33:14Z")
Pre-pandemic I always spent Veterans Day evening at the bar, where all veterans were offered one beer for free. (Pennsylvania law allows a bar owner to give _ **one** _ free beer to a customer in a 24 hour period) People like me (non-veterans) bought a round for veterans in the house as well.
This was the first Veterans Day in a long time that I didn’t spend the night with a bunch of totally trashed vets.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2020, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374/13 "2020-11-12T14:44:14Z")
I went to the groc store yesterday. As I was pushing my paid-for cart away from the checkstand I noticed signs on all the other checkstands that vets were eligible for an 11% (cute) discount on the 11th.
Oh well. Bad luck I picked the one stand lacking the sign. :smack: I’ll survive.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2020, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374/14 "2020-11-12T14:46:14Z")
> [@TheCuse](#):
>
> I actually know people who think that people who served during peacetime are not _real_ veterans.
My brother served in the military, spending time in Germany and Turkey. Turns out the US was not involved in any hostilities during the years he served. Still, he had a friend who died during that time (jumping out of airplanes) and other friends who suffered serious injuries.
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### Author:  [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2020, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374/15 "2020-11-12T14:54:33Z")
^^Oh, I believe that. I had friends who got hurt (not killed) during various training. That’s why it pisses me off when folks say you’re only a vet if you saw combat.
I remember years ago when I first tried to join the American Legion (late 80s). I wasn’t eligible even though I had served. I apparently hadn’t served during a time of conflict. So they told me I could join the Sons of the American Legion. I said no thanks. I was pissed off that I was a veteran and the American Legion wouldn’t even recognize my status.
A year or so later, the definition of conflict was changed or something, and the national legion decided to include Grenada as a conflict. So folks like me were then eligible to join the American Legion. There still might be folks out there who never served during a conflict period who are not eligible to join, but I don’t know. I quit the legion years ago.
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### Author:  [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2020, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374/16 "2020-11-12T15:04:09Z")
regardless of combat or not, these are people who are VOLUNTARILY giving 3+ years of their lives to serving their country in any way, while the vast majority of country is too selfish to give anything back; there even been some people recently complaining about Veterans preference (5 points) for Federal hiring!
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### Author:  [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2020, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374/17 "2020-11-12T15:12:13Z")
^^^Agreed. And yeah–I’ve seen folks and letters to the editor complaining about Veteran preferences for federal hiring. It amazes me!
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### Author:  [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2020, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374/18 "2020-11-12T15:16:16Z")
> [@kayaker](#):
>
> Pre-pandemic I always spent Veterans Day evening at the bar, where all veterans were offered one beer for free. (Pennsylvania law allows a bar owner to give _ **one** _ free beer to a customer in a 24 hour period) People like me (non-veterans) bought a round for veterans in the house as well.
>
> This was the first Veterans Day in a long time that I didn’t spend the night with a bunch of totally trashed vets.
I took my wife to the Lariat Tavern in Belmont CA. We looked forward to a few drinks there.
When we arrived, the neon lights outside were on but it was closed. The door was locked.
Damned covid.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2020, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374/19 "2020-11-12T15:21:52Z")
There are also any number of veterans who simply treated it as a job. A job with nice bennies, good training, and a ticket out of town.
“Serving” by being in the DoD and serving by working for the IRS or the Patent Office can be for different motivations. Or they can be for the same motivations.
Certainly some DoD veterans are highly motivated by “giving back” to the society. Others are just there for the paycheck. It was ever thus.
One could make a good argument that the veterans who really deserve the bennies are the draftees. Those are the ones who were uprooted against their will to serve the needs of the larger society. Talk about paying a price for other’s benefit!
I am a vet. I did my thing for 8 years and filled all the squares expected of me. Including the opportunity to get shot at. Which opportunity was taken on occasion.
Just as being a military member was underappreciated during & immediately post Viet Nam, nowadays we’re taking an awful lot of folks who’re little more public-spirited than mailmen or DMV bureaucrats and putting them on some sort of selfless hero pedestal that’s utterly unwarranted. There _are_ selfless heroes among the DoD members. But that’s not true of everybody and never has been.
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### Author:  [@Yelnick\_McWawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yelnick_McWawa)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2020, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veterans-day-freebies/925374/20 "2020-11-12T17:50:58Z")
[quote=“fedman1, post:1, topic:925374”]
… Do they get tax break? …
[/quote]Yes (indirectly) - By not charging $22 for a steak dinner, their profit for the year is $22 less than what it would have been if the steak had been purchased. If they’re in the 25% tax bracket, they save $5.50 on their taxes.
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