ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —

El Patron, a restaurant in Albuquerque, is serving free meals to veterans all day in honor of Veterans Day, a tradition that owners Nadine and Jimmy started 20 years ago.

Nadine explained that the initiative began as a small gathering of friends and has since grown into a heartfelt tribute to service members and first responders. Nadine, whose father served two tours during the Vietnam War, said, "Every day we should probably say thank you to a veteran. If you see someone over at a restaurant or in line somewhere and they have a Vietnam veteran's hat on or a shirt on, you know what? Take a moment and say thank you. Because you know what? They've done a lot for us and for our country."

Vietnam veteran John Baerman expressed his appreciation for the recognition, saying

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