'Reserved for 13 brave fallen soldiers': Bars and restaurants across America set up table tributes to troops killed in Kabul airport ISIS-K suicide blast
Tables lined with American flags left empty and full glasses of beer have become powerful memorials at many restaurants around the country as business owners pay tribute and raise funds for the 13 US soldiers killed in last week's ISIS-K suicide bomb attack.
At one Ohio tavern near the home of one of the slain troops, a sign warned patrons: 'Reserved for the 13 soldiers who never made it home'. At a brewing company in western New York, staff topped off the 13 reserved pints throughout the night to keep them cold and donated a portion of the restaurant's proceeds to victims' families. And an upstate resident put out place settings for the fallen heroes.
'We can't communicate with them anymore, all we can do is recognize them with that table setting. But what we can do is say thanks to the veterans around the area for all they have done,' said Scott Perry, owner of Tuscano's Italian Kitchen in Monroe, Washington, to Q13 Fox Seattle of his restaurant's display.
'I want [customers] to see it. I want them to feel it. I want them to feel it in their hearts. So, I put it right in the front of my restaurant.'
'A silent yet powerful way to catch peoples' attention and make them think more deeply about the sacrifices those young men and women made,' said Bob Confer on Twitter of a display at the Red Osier in Stafford, New York
Perry has amassed more than $800 from patrons toward donations to Monroe's Veterans of Foreign Wars post.
Eleven marines, one Navy Corpsman and an Army staff sergeant were killed, as were at least 160 Afghan citizens, in the August 26 terror attack.
News of the bombing hit close to home for Ironwood Cafe general manager Shannon Vasquez - one of the fallen soldiers, Navy Corpsman Maxton Soviak, hailed from nearby Milan, Ohio.
'My husband, grandfather and many in my family served. When I read that one of Ohio's own died... I wanted to make a small gesture to honor Max and the 12 other soldiers,' she told Yahoo! Finance after she left 13 drafts at a reserved table on Friday.
!['My husband, grandfather and many in my family served. When I read that one of Ohio's own died... I wanted to make a small gesture to honor Max [Soviak] and the 12 other soldiers,' said Ironwood Cafe General Manager Shannon Vasquez of her touching display (pictured)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/08/30/19/47287009-9940259-_My_husband_grandfather_and_many_in_my_family_served_When_I_read-a-38_1630346732092.jpg)
'My husband, grandfather and many in my family served. When I read that one of Ohio's own died... I wanted to make a small gesture to honor Max [Soviak] and the 12 other soldiers,' said Ironwood Cafe General Manager Shannon Vasquez of her touching display (pictured)
Reserved for our heroes: Sid's Garage in Meridian, Idaho, paid tribute
A line of beers wait for 13 fallen soldiers who will never return home to drink them at Wachusett Brewing Company in Westminster, Massachusetts
Photos of the 13 troops who died in the bombing near the Kabul airport on Thursday were presented alongside American flags and symbolic beers at Mr. Dominic's at the Lake in Rochester, New York
David Lee Espinoza, 20 (pictured left), Jared Schmitz, 20 (pictured center) and Rylee McCollum, 20, of Wyoming
Hunter Lopez, 22, of Coachella Valley, California (pictured left), Daegan William-Tyeler Page, 23, of Omaha, Nebraska (pictured center) and Kareem Nikoui, 20, of Norco, California (pictured left)
Dylan Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, California (pictured left), Navy Corpsman Max Soviak, 22, of Milan, Ohio (pictured center) and Marine Sargeant Johanny Rosario, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts (pictured right)
Staff Sergeant Ryan Knauss of Knoxville, Tennessee (pictured left), Taylor Hoover, 31, of Midvale, Utah (pictured center) and Humberto Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Indiana (pictured right)
Marine Sergeant Nicole Gee, 23, of Sacramento, California posted the above photo with the simple caption 'I love my job' on August 21 , five days before she was killed by a suicide bomber at Hamid Karzai International Airport
Thousand Islands Winery in Alexandria Bay, New York set out 13 glasses of wine for their take on the touching tribute
Formed armed forces member and others on social media held barstool vigils of their own, buying and leaving full flights of 13 drinks or, in one case, a shot for their fallen comrade
In Royalton, Ohio, the owner of Niko's Bar and Gyros felt compelled to re-create the gesture in his own bar.
'[My general manager] told me, 'You do realize it's a Friday night, right?'' I said, 'Yeah, but you do realize these people are not coming back to the families?'
A dollar of each beer sold at Niko's, he said, will be donated to the soldier's familiar and military charities until September 11.
At First Line Brewing in Orchard Park New York, owner Michael Maiorana made sure his staff kept the beer glasses full and said on Facebook that a portion of the restaurant's proceeds from the weekend will be donated.
The tributes aren't limited to just bars and restaurants.
A flower shop near Maiorana's business is displaying 10 roses in the soldiers' honor.
In Middletown, Delaware, barbershop owner Robert Allen displayed 13 Budweisers lined up in front of a flag-adorned chair, hoping that patrons would take a moment to reflect and pay respects.
Texas Roadhouse in Papillion, Nebraska paid tribute to the 13 troops killed with beers and red carnations
Beers set out in memoriam at 7 Hamlets Brewing Company in Westmoreland, New York (pictured left) and Veranda Bistro and Bar in Avon, Ohio (pictured right)
'Somebody lost a piece of their family they'll never get back,' said Allen. 'Putting out 13 beers to honor the lives of those soldiers is the least any American can do right now.'
The tributes extend to social media, where touching memorials can be found by searching the hashtag #TilValhalla on Twitter - the phrase, lifted from Norse mythology, was coined by Marines and used to honor the fallen, according to The Focus.
'No matter who or what you believe in – 'Until Valhalla' is a sign of utmost respect and tells our fallen that we will see them again…and we will,' reads the description of the Til Valhalla project, a veteran-run organization that gifts commemorative plaques to the families of fallen soldiers and funds suicide prevention efforts in the armed forces.
According to General F. McKenzie, the Head of US Central Command in Afghanistan, the attack was the deadliest that the nation's troops have seen in 10 years. At least 15 additional soldiers were injured in the strikes.
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