2nd and 4th Saturdays – 10 a.m.

The Broomfield Veterans Museum invites you to join us for Coffee and Conversation, where you can enjoy coffee, donuts, networking and a great presentation by a veteran or historian. In an informal setting, our Coffee and Conversation events provide museum visitors with an opportunity to listen to the stories of service and sacrifice, ask questions of our speakers and other veterans, see short videos and discuss the broader context of their experiences. Coffee and Conversation events in 2023 begin at 10 a.m. on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays each month.

Watch the Livestream

The museum is open and hosting Coffee and Conversation events. However, if you prefer to watch from home, we invite you to tune in via our YouTube livestream.

Upcoming Presentations 

**21 October – A Heroic Broomfield Aviator. By: Bill Bacon, as told to Fred Martin
This interview-presentation format details the Naval career of Bill Bacon from aviation flights
aboard submarine hunter aircraft in the Cuban Missile Crisis to FAA authorized licensing of
thousands of pilots, including certification flights in the famous Commemorative Air Force
B-29 bomber “Fifi.”

28 October – Louis DeGrave was six years old and living with his family in the Dutch East Indies at
the start of World War II. With the Japanese rapid invasion of French Indo China and
subsequent capture Indonesia and the Dutch East Indies, Louis and his family were interred in
a Japanese prisoner of war camp. Sadly his father died along with thousands of allied
prisoners working on what was known as the rail line associated with the infamous bridge
over the River Kwai. Louis will share the story of his family in Japanese captivity.

11 November – Veterans Day Program, 11am at the Museum, 12 Garden Center

**18 November – BG (ret) Christopher Petty – The Importance of History in Military Command
General Petty commanded a major aviation operation in Iraq and served as a NATO
commander in Serbia. He provides insights into the importance of learning and
understanding military history for successful military operations, from ancient times to the
present.

25 November – Don Cygan is an Army veteran and an avid military history researcher. He joined
the Army in 1989 and his background led him into a position with civil affairs and military
journalism. He is a past C&C presenter and a museum volunteer. He will talk about his book,
No Silent Night – the Christmas Battle for Bastogne.

9 December – Don Brookings will tell the story of his father who served as a young soldier in the
23rd Infantry Division in World War II. When his unit was in a small town in Luxembourg, he
dressed as Father Christmas for a party the soldiers gave for the town’s children. His
presentation includes a History Channel documentary video about this story and the 23rd
Division.

**16 December – Joe McGowan served with the Associated Press for many years around the world. He will talk about his experiences and book, “From Fidel Castro to Mother Teresa.” He will be joined by Babette Andre, who is a laureate in the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame.

Coffee and Conversation Archive