Uniformed funeral soldiers refused service in bar

[Somerset]

Browns Bar in Coventry refused to serve a group of Soldiers a cup of Coffee before they buried their fallen comrade Cpl Michael Thacker.*

Local and regional news has been contacted to help raise awareness of the event. The soldiers were refused service because they were in uniform whilst taking a break from rehearsing the funeral service. The soldiers were simply wanting a morning coffee.*

Cpl Thacker's Wife said of the incident*
*'' ... I have to say when I found out this news i was *horrified. Especially seeing as one of the men in uniform was his *grievng brother! The lack of respect you have shown my husband, me and *the lads yesterday will never be forgotten by the people in Coventry''.

The page on facebook has had almost 13,000 members in the past 4 hours.

This just shows how bad things have become in this country. I cannot imagine this happening in the USA.

 

[Curt]

This can and does happen in the USA. It was especially prevalent during and after VietNam. But we do still have groups like the Westboro Baptist "Church," which disrupts and pickets soldiers' funerals.

 

[rookie]

Westboro Baptist Church seems to be everything we are NOT suppose to be as Christians.....they are in the news more often than Obama.....and I'm in Canada

 

[Edward]

Laws differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but I support the bar's right to refuse service, and your right to organize a boycott of the establishment and publicize what they did.

And I always want to make sure that all sides of the story have been aired before I unleash any outrage.

 

[Somerset]

Westboro - probably one of the best known churches over here.

Edward - some bars over here ban members of the armed forces in the evenings as there can be trouble between them and the locals, especially the case with student pubs. Brown's has a long history of excluding people for odd reasons. I think it is partly to get publicity - but I think this is going to blow up in faces.

 

[Andrew P.C.]

Laws differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but I support the bar's right to refuse service, and your right to organize a boycott of the establishment and publicize what they did.

And I always want to make sure that all sides of the story have been aired before I unleash any outrage.

Edward,

As someone who is in the service, I agree with you. First, I think the wife's attitude about the whole situation is blown out of proportion. People here in the US would react the same, if not more. I hate how people put military members on a "trophy". The idea of patriotism in the US isn't just some ideology, it's a religion. You know, most of the people in the military don't actually see war, and many never even shoot their weapon. Most of the jobs in the Corps (for example) support the infantry units(as I'm in the infantry) rather then actually fighting the war itself. By the way, almost all combat veterans from this war get that status because an IED blew up next to their vehicle. Second, I hate how people in the military say "we fight for your freedom" as if we are close to being oppressed, and going to have our freedoms taken away. We haven't fought for our actual freedom since the Revolutionary War. Every other war has been in another country fighting "bad guys"(minus the Civil War). Thirdly, people here(if this happened in the US) have the right to refuse service to anyone they desire. It's their business for crying out loud! That's the beauty of private businesses, doing what you want; being your own boss. If anyone has an issue with that, maybe they should move to a more socialistic country(no offense, but I'm glad I live in a country that is a representative republic).

Now, as they say, "Have a good Navy And Marine Corps Day!"

 

[crimsonleaf]

For the record, Brown's have now publicly apologised to the two soldiers.

 

[Edward]

And I always want to make sure that all sides of the story have been aired before I unleash any outrage.

I looked at the story on the BBC today - apparently, the bar has a policy against serving uniformed military. So it wasn't an isolated act by an employee.

 

[crimsonleaf]

I think the policy is rooted in the fact that uniformed people are usually on duty, and serving alcohol to anyone on duty is a no-no. The reality is that it's not quite as sinister as it seems.

 

[Somerset]

The apology was handsome and, for most people, an end to the matter.