Eight miles downriver from the French Quarter there is a walled field of headstones on the ground where Andrew Jackson’s army beat the British in 1815, and it is open on Veterans Day. Chalmette National Cemetery holds more than 15,000 graves covering six wars, and unlike almost everything else on a federal holiday, the gates are up. In the city itself the day belongs to the National WWII Museum on Magazine Street. Veterans Day 2026 is Wednesday, November 11. The free meals are the least settled part of any of it: every list you will find today is last year’s list. We checked.
Chalmette, and the headstones that do not match
The cemetery sits next to Chalmette Battlefield, separated from it by a historic red brick wall, on the site of the January 1815 Battle of New Orleans. It was established in May 1864 for Union soldiers who died in Louisiana during the Civil War, and it kept taking the dead of every war after. At least six Americans who fought in the War of 1812 are buried there, though only one of them fought in the battle the ground is named for.
The National Park Service is open about something most cemeteries would tidy away: the headstones are not uniform and not perfect, and that is deliberate. When the War Department handed the site over in 1933, the job changed from maintaining a national shrine to maintaining a national park, and the stones were left carrying their own history rather than being replaced to match. You can see a century and a half of different stonework in one row.
Practical detail, because this is the part that matters on the day. The cemetery is open every day of the year including federal holidays. Vehicular gates run from 9.30 in the morning until half past four, again including federal holidays, and it is open to pedestrians from sunrise to sunset. The battlefield next door opens its vehicle gates at nine.
There is a self-guided audio tour on 504-799-0803 that tells the story of five people buried there: the unknown soldier from the Battle of New Orleans and four Civil War soldiers, one of whom was a woman who disguised herself as a man to enlist in the Union army. And if you would rather not drive, the paddlewheeler Creole Queen runs down from the French Quarter to the battlefield.
The National WWII Museum on the eleventh
In the city itself, Veterans Day belongs to the museum on Magazine Street. The National WWII Museum, at 945 Magazine, has for years marked the holiday with a commemoration ceremony beginning at 11 a.m. and free admission for veterans of all conflicts. The ceremony has carried a colour guard, the Mayor’s Military Advisory Committee Veteran of the Year award, and remarks from a senior leader out of one of the area’s military commands.
The 2026 programme is not posted yet, which is normal for September; the museum tends to publish its November listings much closer to the date. What is already visible on its calendar is that the free-admission practice is live and current, because the same courtesy is running for service-branch birthdays this autumn. We are watching the museum’s events calendar and will put the 2026 ceremony time and detail here when it goes up.
Free meals: what is actually confirmed for 2026
Same problem, different subject. Search for Veterans Day free meals right now and you will find long lists with 2026 in the headline. Open the restaurants’ own pages and the offers are from 2025. Applebee’s Veterans Day page, as this was written in mid-September, still says the free entree is available on Tuesday, November 11, which was last year’s date.
So we are not going to publish a list of offers that no restaurant has agreed to. What we can tell you is the pattern, because it is remarkably stable. The chains that run a free Veterans Day meal have run it for years, most announce in the last week of October, and the terms rarely move: dine-in only, one meal per veteran, a limited menu to choose from, drinks and tip not included, and participating locations only, which matters if you are coming from Metairie or across the lake. Applebee’s has run its offer for eighteen consecutive years. Golden Corral, Texas Roadhouse, Chili’s, Denny’s, Red Robin, Cracker Barrel, Bob Evans and Buffalo Wild Wings have all been regular participants.
We are checking the chains’ own pages weekly and will list each 2026 offer here as the restaurant confirms it, with the date we confirmed it. Nothing goes on this page from an aggregator.
What counts as proof of service
This is the question that actually causes trouble at the door, and the answer is broader than most people expect. Applebee’s published terms accept a Uniformed Services ID card, a Uniformed Services retired ID card, a current Leave and Earnings Statement, a veterans organization card such as American Legion or VFW, a DD214, a citation or commendation, and, simply, a photograph of yourself in uniform. Most chains use a similar list. If you served and you do not carry a card, a DD214 or a photo is usually enough. Call the specific location first, because the offer is franchise-level and the person answering the phone is the one who will be working the door.
Gifts for the veteran in your family
The veteran in your house is reading the top half of this page. If you are the one buying for him or her, this is the half that matters. These are the things that actually get worn and kept: the branch cap, the case for the flag that came off the casket, the box the medals finally come out of the drawer for. Twelve picks, all five branches, every one of them rated by people who bought it.
Army Veteran CapOfficially licensed, embroidered emblem. The cap half the column was wearing on Harbor Drive.4.8 stars, 508 ratings
Navy Veteran CapProudly Served, USN. The most-reviewed branch cap on this list by a wide margin.4.8 stars, 3,300 ratings
Marine Corps Veteran CapRothco, black, USMC. Built heavier than the novelty caps and it holds its shape.4.8 stars, 614 ratings
Air Force Veteran CapEagle Emblems, cotton, embroidered branch logo rather than a printed patch.4.8 stars, 1,200 ratings
Coast Guard Veteran CapProudly Served, USCG. The branch everyone else forgets to stock.4.8 stars, 383 ratings
Burial Flag Display CaseSized for the folded 5 by 9.5 foot interment flag. If the flag is still in the box it came home in, this is the gift.4.7 stars, 11,000 ratings
Engraved Flag CaseThe same case, engraved with the name, branch and years served. Every branch available.4.7 stars, 6,900 ratings
Medal and Ribbon Shadow BoxNineteen by fourteen inches, UV-protected front. For the medals that have been in a drawer for thirty years.4.6 stars, 554 ratings
Challenge Coin CabinetHolds seventy coins, lockable, wall mounted. Most veterans already have the coins and nowhere to put them.4.6 stars, 129 ratings
Thank You Challenge CoinsA set of twenty. What VFW posts and parade organizers hand out on the eleventh.4.8 stars, 357 ratings
DD-214 ShirtThe form that proves it, on a shirt. Also the document that gets you the free meal on the eleventh.4.6 stars, 227 ratings
Outdoor American FlagThree by five feet, made in the USA, embroidered stars and sewn stripes rather than printed.4.6 stars, 38,300 ratingsNot what you were after? Amazon carries far more than twelve things, and every branch, unit and era is in there somewhere.
Browse all veteran gifts on Amazon
Straight to your branch: Army / Navy / Marines / Air Force / Coast Guard
Top of New Orleans is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We earn a commission on qualifying purchases made through the links above, at no extra cost to you. Ratings shown were read on September 16, 2026. We do not list a product we have not checked.
Where to eat after
The museum is at 945 Magazine and two of these are a two minute walk from its door. These are ranked by Insider Score and all four are open at lunchtime on a Wednesday, which is more than you can say for the two highest scores in the city: GW Fins in the Quarter scores 9.9 and does not open until five, and Atchafalaya scores 9.3 and is closed on Wednesdays entirely.
Parkway Bakery & Tavern
Insider Score9.4
Po-boys · 538 Hagan Ave
Mid-City on the bayou, and the highest score on this list by a distance. Open ten to six Wednesday through Sunday. The debris po-boy is the order and it is worth the drive north.
Turkey and the Wolf
Insider Score8.6
Sandwiches · 739 Jackson Ave
Up Jackson Avenue in the Lower Garden District, a mile from the museum. Eleven to four only, so it is a lunch and never a dinner. Closed Tuesdays, open on the eleventh.
Pêche Seafood Grill
Insider Score8.5
Seafood · 800 Magazine St
Two blocks up Magazine from the museum, open daily from eleven. Whole fish over coals, and the seafood gumbo is the thing to build the meal around.
Cochon
Insider Score8.2
Cajun · 930 Tchoupitoulas St
One street over on Tchoupitoulas, the closest of these to the museum door and open daily from eleven to ten. Start with the boudin balls.
Scores are Top of New Orleans Insider Scores. Restaurant photographs from Yelp.