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Is the perception of veterans changing significantly? This story shows how young people feel about their former servicemen elders.

It all began when Lou Zezoff of Granite City decided to take his wife out for a meal one evening.

They arrived at Cracker Barrel and went inside, hoping to have a pleasant evening. Little did they know that some other customers would make it a night that he and his wife would never forget.

Lou and his wife sat down at a table. Opposite them was another table occupied by a group of young men. Lou noticed the men looking at him and talking amongst themselves.

At first, Lou couldn’t tell why they were all looking at him. What were they saying, he wondered?

Then one of them got up and walked up to him.

Lou wasn’t sure why the young man was approaching him. That was when he remembered that he was wearing a cap that identified him as a US Navy Vietnam veteran. He hoped that the young man wouldn’t take exception to that.

Then the man put his hand out. Lou grasped this hand and shook it.

He realized that his hat had brought the young man over. And the young man wanted to show his appreciation.

“I stood up, and he thanked me for my service. And I acknowledged it and said, ‘Thank you so much.'” – Lou Zezoff.

Without another word, the young man turned around and walked back to his friends at the table.

But then something else happened.

A second member of the table got up, walked over to Zezoff, shook his hand and said, “I want to thank you for all five of us.”

Lou responded that he appreciated the gesture. He also wished the young man and his friends success in their careers.

Everyone in the restaurant had taken note of what had transpired. Lou thought that the people around him were all beaming with pride.

Afterward, Lou and his wife got on with their meal, musing happily about the young people at the table and young people in general.

At the end of the meal, Lou asked the waiter if he could bring their check over. That was when Lou got yet another surprise.

The waiter smiled and said to wait a minute. He walked back with the check in hand, smiling.

He said, “This is your lucky day,” and explained how the young men at the other table had paid for the meal.

Lou was shocked. He had already had his faith in humanity restored when the two men personally thanked him for his service. But this was really going above and beyond.

Then Lou started to feel bad. For a moment, he got worried that he was depriving one of the young person’s children of a toy, or something like that.

So he got out of his chair, walked over to the young men and said, “Guys, you don’t have to do this.”

But the young men refused to let Lou pay them back. In fact, they were adamant that they should have paid for Lou’s meal.

Before the young men left, they all thanked Lou once more, for good measure.

That evening has stuck with Lou ever since. See him describe it below:

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Source: Belleville News-Democrat