Each Veterans Day, the Dunkin’ Donuts on Plaza Boulevard in National City gives a free donut to all military veterans who come into the coffee and donut shop.
“We don’t question you,” said franchisee Talisin Burton, 39, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.
“If you say you’re a veteran I’m not going to ask for proof or anything like that.”
Burton said giving out a free donut to military veterans on Veterans Day is just a “small token of appreciation” for the men and women who have served this country.
But Burton’s recognition to military veterans does not end with a free donut, though he did give away 362 donuts this year.
Burton has dedicated each of his 11 Dunkin’ stores to an individual who was killed in the line of duty.
The store in National City, which is his flagship store, is dedicated to San Diego-based Lt. Cmdr. Landon L. Jones who died in 2013 during a training exercise in the Red Sea.
A memorial plaque hangs inside the wall of each of his Dunkin’ stores to honor the individual who lost his or her life in the line of duty. At the National City location, a plaque hangs honoring Jones.
“Every year during the dedication day and then every year on his birthday we give a percentage of our total sales to the Travis Manion Foundation,” Burton said.
When the Dunkin in National City opened nearly two years ago, the foundation picked that location to be dedicated to Jones. That dedication caught Burton by surprise because Burton actually knew Jones.
“Jones is such a very common name, I didn’t think anything of it (when they picked his name),” he said. “And then when I found out it was Landon, I was like, ‘holy crap’ .”
Jones’ widow, Theresa Jones, praised Burton for his gesture in dedicating each one of his restaurants to a deceased veteran.
“For any family, it’s keeping their family member’s name alive and out there,” she said.
“People may look at that plaque and decide who was this person and maybe look them up and figure out who this person was or what they did or even just saying their name is a really big deal. I think just keeping their memory alive is huge just by having their name out there.”
