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St Matthews Texas Roadhouse lauded for honoring US soldiers slain in Kabul bombings

The twin suicide bombings in Kabul on Thursday shocked the nation as more than 170 people were killed, including several US service members

A Kentucky restaurant paid tribute to the 13 US service members who died in a terrorist suicide attack while helping Americans and Afghan allies evacuate Kabul Thursday, August 26, drawing praise from patriots across the nation.

The twin suicide bombings in Kabul on Thursday shocked the nation as more than 170 people were killed, including several US service members, and more than 150 wounded. We previously reported how slain US Marine Nicole Gee cradled a baby at Kabul airport before losing her life in the ISIS-K bombing.

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"For the 13 fallen," Tyler Scott Parker, the manager of the St Matthews Texas Roadhouse in Louisville, Ky, wrote on Facebook while sharing an image showing 13 place settings, each with a full pint of Bud Light. "I really just wanted people to see it and know that as a company, we hear them," he told Fox News Saturday, August 28.

Parker, in another Facebook post, showed the Stars and Stripes on the restaurant's rooftop at half-staff in honor of the fallen soldiers.  "[Thirteen] doorbells will ring," he wrote in the caption. "13 flags will be given. 13 will never come home."

According to defense officials, the ISIS-K-linked twin suicide bombings in Kabul on Thursday claimed the lives of 11 US Marines, one soldier, and a Navy medic. The attacks also killed hundreds of Afghan civilians and injured several more. Parker told Fox News that both his grandfathers had served in the Korean War and that his stepfather was a Marine during Desert Storm. "It kind of hits home for me," he said. "When your family has served, and they've made it back, and then you think these 13 who have fallen and are not going to make it back."

Thinking of ways to pay tribute to those who died in Afghanistan, Parker had the Luke Bryan song, "Drink A Beer" pop into his head. "So I just was like, let's go for it, and let's put beers out on the table," he added. The image went viral and was lauded by many on social media.

"Classy move by the @texasroadhouse in Hendersonville, TN," radio host Josh Innes tweeted.

"Texas Roadhouse in Hendersonville making me proud to live here. To every soldier that has dedicated themselves to our country, you have my respect and my gratitude," a nearby resident added.

"This was at Texas Roadhouse tonight in St Charles. Love seeing these tributes," a patron wrote as they shared the photo of another Texas Roadhouse tribute.

"This brought a real, real tear to my eye. Thank you @texasroadhouse of Holmdel, NJ. #WeWillNotForget," another Twitter user chimed in.

The Kabul attack increased pressure on the Biden administration to act after its chaotic withdrawal from the war-torn country. It prompted a US drone strike that is said to have killed ISIS-K targets believed to have been plotting additional attacks against Americans.

Meanwhile, it has been a difficult year for Texas Roadhouse as well. At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, founder and CEO Kent Taylor said he would forego his own salary in order to pay his workers as lockdowns disrupted the restaurant industry. In March 2021, Taylor tragically ended his own life after struggling with post-Covid-19 symptoms, including severe tinnitus. According to an obituary in the New York Times, Taylor was born in 1955 at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, where his father was an Army lieutenant. Parker noted how Taylor always supported the military.

"We do a big Memorial Day, we do the Fallen heroes table…just a little way to give back and show that we care and that we're here for them," he told Fox News.