 CEDAR HILL, Texas – Attorneys are hoping to resolve a dispute between a local veteran and the restaurant he says humiliated him during what was supposed to be a Veterans Day tribute. Ernest Walker and his attorney met with reporters at the Cedar Hill Chili’s onSunday afternoon after a meeting with the restaurant’s parent company was postponed, reports CBS Dallas. On Veterans Day, Walker says a manager told him customers had questioned whether he was really a veteran, so he showed the manager his identification along with his military discharge document as proof of his service. While much of the public response since then has been in support of Walker, some have voiced suspicions about his uniform he says he bought after he retired to wear on Veterans Day as tribute to his prior service. Walker’s attorney, Kim Cole, says an attorney for Brinker has apologized to her on behalf of the company, and the two sides plan to meet on Monday to discuss the incident.
– The parent company of Chili's says it wants to make things right after a veteran had his free meal taken away on Veterans Day, the AP reports. Ernest Walker posted a video to Facebook on Friday of a manager taking away his meal at a Chili's in the Dallas suburb of Cedar Hill. The Army vet writes that the meal was taken away after another diner raised questions about the uniform Walker was wearing. Walker says the manager took his meal even after he showed him his military ID and discharge papers. Walker says he bought the fatigues he was wearing after he was discharged as a tribute to his service. Walker tells KDFW-TV that he believes another diner, also a veteran, was the one who raised doubts about his service. "He said, 'Well, I was in World War II in Germany and they didn't have any blacks over there then.’ He's an older guy so I let that stuff go," Walker says. But then he was approached by the manager, who told him, "We have guests that say you are not a legitimate military veteran," says Walker. Brinker International, which owns Chili's, tells KDFW that it's taking the matter "very seriously." Walker's lawyer is set to meet with the company Monday. “Unfortunately, we fell short on a day that we strive to honor our Veterans and active military for their service," the restaurant chain wrote on Facebook, per CBS.