Waitress Serves 2 Soldiers Lunch; and a Thank You for Dessert

By Debbie Gregory.

Two members of the New Hampshire National Guard, eating lunch at Ruby Tuesday’s in Concord, NH, happened to mention to their waitress that they needed to keep their meal inexpensive due to the fact that they were not getting paid while on mandatory furlough. Thank you, government shutdown.

The waitress, Sarah Hoidahl, sympathized with the soldiers’ money issues. Hoidahl is a 21 year old single mother of a 15 month old, who knows how hard it can be to make ends meet.

The two soldiers ate their meal, and when it came time to bring them the check, Ms. Hoidahl had another idea instead. “I was kind of like, ‘I’m gonna do a good deed today.’ And I wrote them a little note,” Hoidahl said.

The note that Hoidahl gave the two soldiers, in lieu of their bill, read: “Thanks to the government shutdown, the people like you that protect this country are not getting paid. However, I still am. Lunch is on me. Thank you for serving ladies! Have a good day!”

The waitress not only served the two their $30 dollar meal, but she also paid for those meals out of her own pocket. Such selflessness, especially in regards to recognizing military personnel, is a welcome sight, seldom seen in today’s world. Needless to say, Hoidahl’s gesture touched the two women, who hugged their server.

“They were so happy and that was worth it,” said Hoidahl. “Just seeing the reaction on their faces was totally worth it.”

The two soldiers weren’t the only ones who were impressed by Hoidahl’s generosity. More than 10,000 people have already read and shared the story on the National Guard’s social media pages. The N.H. National Guard posted a picture of Sarah and a copy of her note on their Facebook page. The post already has over 5,800 likes. There are also many comments on the post congratulating Hoidahl and thanking her for her example.

“I think the most moving thing I saw on Facebook was people saying there should be more people like me in the world,” She said. “That really got to me.”

And Sarah Hoidahl’s act of kindness really got to us at Military Connection. There really should be more people like her.