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 in a safe and socially distanced manner. However, if you prefer to watch from home, we invite you to tune in via our YouTube livestream.

Upcoming Presentations 

25 February – Tim Hutchinson is the Broomfield Veterans Service Officer will provide a quarterly update to the VA claims process, the new appeals program, and changes resulting from Covid-19. Additionally, he will discuss the New 2022 PACT Act, which is perhaps the largest health care and benefits expansion in VA history. Tim is a Navy veteran having served aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Midway, attached to the US Navy 7th Fleet, from July 1984 to April 1988.

11 March – Don Stanton and Lew Moir will review the “Mayaguez Incident” which occurred between 12-15 May 1975 when the Khmer Rouge seized the U.S. merchant vessel SS Mayaguez in a disputed maritime area off the coast of what is now Cambodia. At that time Don was serving on the attack carrier USS Coral Sea (CVA-43) which provided air support for the operation to recover the ship and crew. Lew was a division director in 5th Air Force, where Special Operations fell within his area of responsibility. The 1st Special Operations Squadron was stationed at Kadena AB, Okinawa, and worked with the Navy Seals out of Subic Bay PI.

25 March – Flint Whitlock and John Peticolas will give a combined presentation recognizing the
161st Anniversary of the Civil War Battle of Glorieta Pass, March 26-28, 1862, in the northern New
Mexico Territory. This battle has been dubbed the “Gettysburg of the West” by some authors. Both
Flint and John are museum board members, military veterans and prior C&C speakers. John’s great great uncle served with the Confederate Forces during the battle, and his story is reflected in the Civil War exhibit in the Veterans Museum.

8 April – Drew Payne and several members of the local Mile-High Wing (MHW) of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) will join us to talk about their volunteer organization and its ongoing restoration of a rare WWII era, dual engine Beechcraft 18 airplane (Sonora Beauty) in its original military configuration. The aircraft served on active duty with the US Navy from July 1943 to 1965. The Mile-High Wing is a Denver based unit of the CAF, which is a worldwide, all volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to the restoration and preservation of the great warplanes that dominated the skies during World War II. The MHW is based at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield, Colorado.

22 April – Bill Frueh will tell the inspirational story of “Sergeant Reckless.” (c. 1948 – 1968), a
decorated warhorse who held official rank in the United States Military. Reckless was bought by
members of the United States Marine Corps and trained to be a pack horse for the Recoilless
Rifle Platoon, Anti-Tank Company, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division in Korea. She served in
numerous combat actions during the Korean War, carrying supplies and ammunition, and was also
used to evacuate wounded. She also became the first horse in the Marine Corps known to have
participated in an amphibious landing, and following the war was awarded two Purple Hearts,
a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal and inclusion in her unit’s two Presidential citations. Bill Frueh
is a prior C&C presenter, a military and Civil War historian and reenactor, and heads the local
chapter of the American Military Living History Association.

13 May – Lew Moir served 28 years in the US Air Force including Strategic Air Command Operations during the Cold War years. Lew flew a wide range of fighters and strategic bombers, including the F-86 Saber jet and SAC bombers such as the B-47 and B-52. During the Vietnam war he flew 75 B-52 combat missions with over 280 combat hours. Lew will share a variety of personal “Cold War Stories.”

27 May – Gail Elias, will give a special talk about the history and ongoing efforts to preserve the Boulder County WWI Memorial Pillars located at the intersection of Rt. 287 and Arapahoe Road, in Lafayette. The two pillars were erected in 1921 to honor Boulder County soldiers who served in WWI, and are now threatened with collapse. The formal title for the memorial is the “Road of Remembrance Gateway Pillars.” Gail also has self-published a book telling the story of fifty Boulder soldiers who died of the flu during the war. She is Regent of the Indian Peaks Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and a member of the Mitigation Working Group developing a plan to save the memorial. This talk is the capstone of our special museum exhibit, “Colorado In World War I.

Coffee and Conversation Archive