Veterans Day Discounts At Cape Cod Restaurants, Stores In 2021

BARNSTABLE, MA — For Veterans Day 2021, a host of stores and restaurants across Cape Cod are offering discounts and freebies to service members.

Here's a list of local spots to get those discounts. If you're a business owner offering something to veterans this year, email jimmy.bentley@patch.com.

• Persy's Place — Receive a complimentary meal and drink. Locations in Falmouth and Hyannis
• Steamship Authority — Veterans can enjoy a free trip to or from Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket on Nov. 11.
• 7-Eleven — Free coffee or Big Gulp for veterans by downloading store app. Multiple locations.
• Dunkin' — Free donut for veterans. Multiple locations.
• Starbucks — Free 12-ounce (tall) hot coffee for veterans, active-duty members and spouses. Multiple locations.
• Ninety Nine Restaurant & Pub — Free entrée for veterans between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Veterans Day. Locations in Centerville, Falmouth, Mashpee
• Wendy's — Free small breakfast combo with military ID. Mulitple locations.
• McDonald's — McDonald’s of New England is celebrating Veterans Day by offering free breakfast meals on Thursday, November 11. Vets can head to their local New England McDonald’s for their choice of a free Egg McMuffin, Sausage Biscuit or Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit along with Hash Browns and a medium soft drink, sweet tea or premium roast coffee with proof of service.
• IHOP — Free red, white and blue pancakes during restaurant hours. Location in Hyannis
• Planet Fitness — Veterans can work out for free at Massachusetts gyms through Nov. 15. Locations in Falmouth, Hyannis, Mashpee, South Yarmouth.

Veterans Day, commemorated annually on Nov. 11, was first celebrated in 1919 to honor those who fought in World War I. It was initially called Armistice Day and was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.

The holiday’s origin is tied to the armistice, a temporary end of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany signed in France on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

It became Veterans Day in 1954, shortly following the end of the Korean War and less than a decade after World War II, after various veterans service organizations urged Congress to encompass veterans of all wars in their honor.