The breakfast club

BUFFALO - On Thursday mornings, there's no livelier place to be than Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4969 in Buffalo. The coffee is brewing and pancakes and bacon are on the stove before sunrise. Veterans representing nearly every branch of the U.S. military come for the breakfast, and they stay for the camaraderie.

"It's just a tight-knit gathering of folks that have experiences in common," said Jurgen Hakert, who served in the Air Force for 23 years.

At the VFW, every member is, as the name suggests, a veteran of a foreign war, meaning they've been exposed to combat or overseas hostilities, Hakert said.

"We very rarely, if ever, talk about those experiences," he said. "But we all know we're coming from the same place, so it's just nice. Plus, the coffee is pretty good."

The Thursday before Veterans Day, the group of 13 welcomed a reporter and a photojournalist into the fray. Conversations ranged from the election, to local food and gas prices, to how much the group loves bacon and whether the coffee really is good. Some told a few more lighthearted stories about their service abroad.

"People that have been in that kind of situation, they're not really open to talking about their experiences," Hakert said. "Maybe in an obtuse or humorous way, but very rarely do we get into those sorts of discussions here. It's kind of a personal thing."

Hakert, 63, joined the VFW after some pestering from his friend, Arlis Bolinger – better known by his middle name, Wayne – who is an 83-year-old Vietnam War veteran.

Born in Arkansas and raised in Johnson County, Bolinger was drafted by the Army to serve in the Vietnam War. Hakert was born in Germany where his father, James, served in the U.S. military. They eventually moved to Buffalo, his father's hometown, when Hakert was a young boy.

Hakert was in eighth grade when he first became acquainted with Bolinger, a schoolmate of his father's. Bolinger needed summer help on his ranch, and Hakert went on to have one of the greatest experiences of his life up until that point, he said.

From Bolinger, Hakert learned how to irrigate and raise cattle – he hails from a family of sheep ranchers. Bolinger has lived and ranched in a few locations throughout Johnson County. Give Bolinger the choice between a tractor and a draft horse, and he'd pick the horse every time, Hakert said.

"He taught me how to cowboy," Hakert said.

After high school, Hakert joined the Air Force, which took him all over the world, as was his goal when he joined.

"The service was my ticket to bigger and better things," he said. "All those years moving around, doing different things, were just great experiences."

Bolinger and Hakert stayed in touch when Hakert joined the Air Force, making phone calls every once in a while.

During his service, he got married and had three kids. After he retired from the Air Force, where he was an aircraft mechanic, Hakert worked for commercial airlines for a time before moving back to Buffalo from New Jersey.

"When I moved back here, I still had kids in school," Hakert said. "I wanted them to experience small-town life."

Here, he worked as a coal miner for 10 years and eventually retired. He would run into Bolinger, who often tried to convince him to join the VFW, of which Bolinger is a longtime member.

"Back when I was still working, I was working 12 hours and I had to commute from here," Hakert said. "I did that every day, and it just wasn't something I was prepared to do. But once I retired, I got involved with this organization."

Asked why he wanted Hakert to join the VFW, Bolinger said, simply, because he's a veteran. Plus, he said, he figured Hakert would add something to the weekly breakfasts and other events.

"He has things to say," Bolinger said. "You've got to listen to everybody and all their opinions about everything and to see what's going on with the people that belong here, and to the Legion too."

Around the Thursday morning table are veterans involved in both the VFW and American

Legion Post 13 in Buffalo. There's no rivalry between the two organizations on Veterans Lane, not even the friendly ribbing that's common between servicemembers of different military branches – many veterans are members of both groups.

The organizations aren't just about coffee and telling stories, Hakert said.

The VFW and American Legion put out flags for patriotic holidays, put flags on veterans' graves and distribute poppies on Memorial Day and participate in the Buffalo High School Veterans' Day program. The VFW has a closet with free medical supplies for anyone who could use it – veteran or not, Johnson County resident or not, said the Post's Vice Commander, Steve Werth.

They'll also use funds for a veteran who is in need. Hakert used an example of a veteran traveling through Buffalo whose car broke down and needs a hotel room.

"We help every veteran that's in need," Hakert said. "We're not just focused locally."

At this point, the VFW has around 86 members, according to Quartermaster John Zorbas. Members remarked that it's a dwindling number as time goes on and veterans move or pass away.

The breakfast club, which consists of 12 to 20 or more people each week, they said, welcomes any and all veterans - young and old, men and women - into its ranks. The group gathers around 6:30 a.m., though some have shown up earlier and earlier to make sure they get first dibs on the bacon, they joked.

Bacon jokes aside, the VFW is about helping people, Hakert said. When veterans start regularly attending the weekly breakfasts, they're gifted a mug with their military branch and name. The mugs are hung over the coffeemaker.

"As you can tell by just looking, a lot of us are old – some are really old – and we're always looking for new members to keep the spirit of the organization going," he said. "The fellowship

that you get out of it, you just can't put a price on it."