By Mike Armstrong
Reporter, Carbon County Comet
Mike Lujan, owner of Mike’s Big City Steakhouse (Big City), welcomed all vets who came through his doors with a free dinner on Veterans Day this past Saturday night. The venue was packed. There was not a free table except one.
Lujan had set aside a table for two with a place setting for one. The symbolism of this gesture was to honor the missing veterans and let it be known they were not forgotten.
There was more to the table than just the place setting. The Color Guard which was present, placed two flags on poles next to the table and then moments later, a single Color Guard placed a folded flag across from the place setting.
Rawlins Police Chief Michael Ward led all those honoring the vets in the restaurant in the pledge of allegiance.
Best Buddies, a program where students make friends, the Rawlins High School student council, and students Lujan teaches cooking at the Rawlins High School, were all there to serve and help where they could on this busy evening.
“I look around this room and it makes me so awfully proud to see so many veterans that took time out of their life to give us a chance to have this type of meeting,” Rawlins mayor Terry Weickum said. “It is very special to all of us. Thank you.”
Lujan thanked all the vets who were in the restaurant. He also thanked the Color Guard who were present. In military organizations, a color guard is a detachment of soldiers assigned to the protection of regimental colors and the national flag. Lujan had a couple of veterans speak and then he paid tribute to his father. Lujan was clearly a bit emotional as he remembered his father’s stories about serving in the military.
“I wish I could hear them one more time,” Lujan said with his voice cracking slightly. “My father was a boxer while in the military and he was told he didn’t have to ship out because they wanted him to box stateside, but he said no and at 18 he was serving on a PT boat.”
Lujan explained his father was a medic and the boat would pick up pilots that were shot down on the Yalu River. Lujan also served in the military when he got out of school.
He thanked everyone for their service and all those who supported the Veterans. Once he finished, the Veterans got to enjoy a meal of roast beef, mashed potatoes and other side dishes. The restaurant served well over 200 people that evening.
The laughter which echoed throughout the dining room as the food was being put forth, reinforced there was a lot of goodwill that Veterans Day evening in Rawlins Big City.
