By Norman Gillen, Ret Navy

Two men identified each other as military veterans in an Aldi parking lot by the Navy ship ball caps they were each wearing. After a brief ten-minute conversation, Dave provided Norm with a card listing thirteen locations in East Tennessee that offer complimentary breakfast for veterans every Saturday.

Norm called the number to sponsor a breakfast and met Buzz Buswell, the breakfast coordinator. The American Legion Post 212 in Maynardville meets the requirements to host a breakfast and has chosen the second Saturday of every month, beginning January 10.

The idea of a complimentary monthly breakfast for veterans originated in Clinton in 2016, where the program regularly serves over 100 veterans. Then-Knox County mayor Tim Burchett challenged Buswell to offer free breakfasts to veterans in Knox County, and the Free Veterans Breakfast Project was born, in association with United Veterans Council of East Tennessee and their major sponsors, including Food City, Rusty Wallace Automotive, Wampler’s Farm sausages, and many others.

American Legion Post 212 is honored to expand the free breakfasts into Union County. So, what can you expect? Doors at 140 Veterans St will open at 8 a.m. with coffee and donuts. The chow line (scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, fresh fruit and orange juice) opens at 8:30 a.m. As good as the food is, the primary purpose of the breakfast is to provide a venue for socializing and fellowship with others who have “been there, done that!” – your fellow soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen and guardsmen. Breakfast concludes with a brief program recognizing veterans, featuring our Veterans Service Officer and door prizes. It concludes at 9:30 a.m. Veterans’ guests, family members, and caregivers are encouraged to attend and mingle.

So, about the hat – announce who you are and your history by proudly wearing your “colors,” so the whole world can see! Who would have guessed that two ball caps would lead to feeding hundreds of veterans (hopefully!) monthly in the heart of Maynardville?