A Kansas restaurant has gained a lot of attention on the Internet after they put out a sign containing a powerful message about America’s fallen soldiers.
Mayberry’s, a restaurant in Washington, Kansas, posted a sign that read, “We have 619,300 reasons to be closed Monday!” in reference to those who died fighting in World War I, World War II, and the Korean, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan wars, KSDK reported.
Brandon Lee, a customer at the northern Kansas establishment, posted a picture of the sign on Facebook Thursday that went viral. As of Monday evening, the post has been shared over 157,000 times.
Mayberry’s was closed Sunday and Monday in observance of Memorial Day weekend, according to the Wichita Eagle.
Kelly Ray, the restaurant’s manager and chef, told the Eagle that he wanted people to remember the sacrifices of the men and women in the armed forces as the reason for the Memorial Day holiday.
“People talk about Memorial Day being the start of summer and that sort of thing,” Ray said. “But what it’s really about is those people who died. I hope people think about them.”
Ray said he got his inspiration for the sign while working for a restaurant in Missouri.
“I mentioned to the owner that we should be closed for Memorial Day, and he said, ‘I can’t think of one good reason why we would do that, because people are going to be out and they’ll want to eat,’” Ray said. “I saw a post on Facebook with the number of people who have died in our wars, so I basically just put that on a sign and showed it to him.”
The restaurant’s owners decided to close on Memorial Day as a result.
Ray said that he took the sign with him when he moved to Kansas, and his new employer approved of the idea as well.
“I just love the message,” Ray said. “You don’t have to like our president or like some of the things our government is doing, but you sure better respect those who have laid down their lives for us to be able to live here.”
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