It all started in a booth in the west Eisenhower McDonald’s thirteen years ago. World War II veteran Virgil Horton met with other veterans for conversation and camaraderie over mugs of steaming coffee. As he saw other veterans come into the restaurant, he invited them to join the group. He reiterated his philosophy often: “No veteran should ever sit alone.” Like so many of the Greatest Generation, Virgil has since passed, but his legacy lives at the Loveland Golden Corral.
Every Saturday morning a stream of veterans stretches out of Golden Corral’s door and into the parking lot. What started as a core group of five now has anywhere from 100-130 veterans at breakfast each week. They call their group PAMVETS, which stands for Proud American Veterans. The group hypothesizes that 1,000 different veterans have attended a PAMVETS breakfast throughout the years.
The group likes to keep it casual. Their meetings don’t follow a rigid structure, and there are no appointed leadership positions, dues, or rules other than Virgil’s staple: no veteran sits alone. The breakfast starts with the Pledge of Allegiance, a prayer, birthday and anniversary wishes, the welcoming of newcomers, and a few veteran-oriented announcements. Then it’s off to the chow line! Leading the charge to the food are characters like Dave Landers, George Norton, and Gene Tunbull. That’s because World War II veterans are always called first, followed by Korean, Vietnam, Cold War, and present conflict veterans.
Laughter wafts continually throughout the room as stories are shared amongst the different eras, wars, and branches. Throughout the course of breakfast, veterans often discover that they served in the same unit or sailed on the same ship. Now granted, the needle often sits off the scale in the red zone on the Bravo Sierra meter with many of these conversations, but that is part of the fun of it all. Veterans appreciate that they can share common experiences with people who understand. They leave with nourished bellies and souls.
The light and easy-going mornings are built upon a heavier foundation of sacrifice, patriotism, honor, and deep respect. It doesn’t matter if a veteran stormed a beach or spent their entire time in the service peeling potatoes. Everyone in the room respects the common bond of service and sacrifice to America.
Veterans Honoring Veterans
The cornerstone of the Veterans Honoring Veterans (VHV) organization is the belief that every serviceman and servicewoman deserves to be honored for their service. VHV holds a brief ceremony every first and third Saturday at the PAMVETS breakfast to honor a handful of veterans. They present a select few (usually 5-8) with a beautiful 12” statue that depicts their respective service branch.
VHV is the brainchild of Bart Bartholomew. A number of years ago Bart, a Vietnam Navy veteran and retired state patrolman, went to a ship reunion. At one of the dinners, a sailor got up and presented another sailor with a statue. Bart was inspired, so he decided to do the same for his hometown veterans.
Bart came home and eagerly shared his thoughts with a group of veterans. They loved the idea and began the process to form the non-profit that would become Veteran’s Honoring Veterans. He secured Gary Ricker, a local artist and Vietnam veteran, to manufacture the statues, and VHV was off and running in 2018.
The beautiful 12” statues depict each of the different service branches, and women veterans receive an eagle statue. The plaque on the front of the statue lists the person’s name, rank, branch, years served, and conflict (if they were in one.) In addition to the ceremonies held at PAMVETS, VHV has made a number of visits to homebound veterans who are unable to travel. To date, VHV has presented approximately 350 statues. The waiting list is at least that long, and it’s growing!
These presentations of these statues give long-withheld recognition to veterans. When considering history, WWII veterans came home and moved on with life without much fanfare. Korean War veterans have been coined The Forgotten Veterans. Many Vietnam veterans were treated shamefully, being spat on and called malicious names when they returned home. Gulf War veterans share a similar reputation with Korean veterans. So, many of them get emotional when they’re actually praised for their service. For some, it is the very first time their service has been acknowledged.
PAMVETS meets every Saturday morning at the Golden Corral that’s located off of Highway 34/Eisenhower Blvd at 1360 Sculptor Drive in east Loveland across from Lowe’s. The doors open at 9 a.m., and the cost for the all-you-can-eat style breakfast buffet is $10 plus tip.
To learn more about Veterans Honoring Veterans and how you can nominate a veteran for a statue (or help with a much-welcomed tax-deductible donation), you can go to their website: www.veteranshonoringveterans.org, their Facebook page: Facebook.com/NoCoVHV, or by calling 970- 481-9640. Mention Loveland + South Lifestyle when you donate and they will purchase a statue in support of your donation, up to 50 statues.
