American Trucker Pays Tab For Canadian Veterans In Ottawa Restaurant

November 10, 2018

An American trucker in Ottawa treated a large group of Canadian veterans to dinner to honor their service.

John Meiring / Credit: CTV News

Trucker John Meiring was passing through Ottawa and decided to stop at Robbie's Spaghetti House for dinner. Meiring noticed a "Vets on Wheels" bus parked out front and introduced himself to the 17 veterans from the Perley and Rideau Veterans Health Centre who were enjoing a night out.

"He said, 'I want to pay for the meals for all the veterans'. I said, 'Are you kidding?'" recalled Phil Lepage, a veteran of the Korean War, to CTV Ottawa.

Meiring said his son is currently serving in Afghanistan with the U.S. military, and he wanted to show the veterans that he appreciated them, no matter which country they served.

"It put a smile on everybody's face. It's going to be one of my greatest memories of my life," Meiring said. "It warmed my heart immensely that I could do this for them."

Watch the video below.