VBC programs connect and heal,
educate and inspire.
Everyone is always welcome.

The Veterans Breakfast Club (VBC) is the nation’s premier non-profit for connecting veterans with their fellow Americans through inspiring stories of service.

Our goal is to build a nation that understands and values the experiences of our military veterans so that every day is Veterans Day.

We do this by bringing together–in-person and online–men and women from all walks of life, all ages and eras, and every branch of service to talk about what they’ve seen and done. We want to hear how people’s military service has shaped them. “Every Veteran Has a Story” is our slogan. We want to hear every one.

We share the stories we hear in our weekly VBC Bulletin email newsletter and our quarterly VBC Magazine. We also record a weekly podcast, The Scuttlebutt, about military culture from the people who lived it.

We do all this because we believe the best way to thank a Veteran is to listen.

Listening is what the VBC has been doing for the past 15 years, when we held our first small event outside of Pittsburgh. Since then, we’ve held over 1,000 programs in-person and online and have welcomed over 20,000 different people at our events, Veterans and non-Veterans coming together to listen.

We value every veteran’s experience, no matter who they are or when or how they served. We’ve seen up close the power of storytelling, as the memories shared at VBC events connect, heal, educate, and inspire an ever-expanding circle of listeners.

At any given event, you might hear from the newest members of Space Force to a 101-year-old World War II veteran.

We’ve welcomed Tin Can Sailors and Montford Point Marines, Vietnam Sky Soldiers and Cold War intelligence officers. We’ve heard stories from the Horn of Africa to Antarctica, the Bering Sea to Diego Garcia, and all points in between.

LORAN Coast Guardsmen and Radar Station Airmen have told us about serving in some of the most remote places on earth.

Korean War veterans have borne witness to their “forgotten war.”

Other “forgotten warriors” shared their memories of Beirut, Grenada, and Mogadishu.

Some of the first women authorized for combat shared stories of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and of the Purple Hearts they received.

Join us at our events and help keep these stories alive.

All you need to do is listen.

Every Veteran Has a Story.
Hear Them Now.

WHAT WE BELIEVE
OUR PROGRAMS
OUR MISSION

UPCOMING EVENTS

Veterans Open Conversation

Date: October 14, 2024
Time: 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Location: Zoom, Facebook, YouTube
Events | Online Events
Open

VBC Scuttlebutt Open Conversation is a friendly, interactive gathering of veterans, friends of veterans, and history nerds where we discuss whatever aspects of military service, past or present, or the veterans community that are on our minds.

Tonight we especially want to hear from Navy veterans in celebration of the US Navy’s 249th birthday.

On October 13, 1775, the Continental Congress of the American colonies established the United States Navy, marking the official birth of the naval force. The decision to form a navy came during the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, when the colonies realized that they needed a naval defense to combat the superior British fleet and protect shipping lanes and coastal cities.

The origins of the Navy trace back to a resolution passed by the Continental Congress, which authorized the acquisition of two armed vessels. These ships were tasked with intercepting British supply ships to disrupt the flow of resources to British forces in North America. Congress also created a Naval Committee, responsible for managing naval operations and the procurement of additional ships.

The need for a navy became critical as British naval dominance threatened the colonies’ efforts to resist British control. Before this, the colonies had relied on privateers and individual colonial militias for maritime defense, but the Continental Navy provided a more organized and unified approach.

The Navy’s formation was a strategic move to protect American interests at sea, disrupt British supply chains, and support the fight for independence. By November 1775, the newly formed Navy had its first ships ready for action, and they began their mission of intercepting British supply vessels. Though small and lacking in resources compared to the powerful British fleet, the Continental Navy played a significant role in the war, contributing to key victories and aiding in the eventual success of the American Revolution.

We’re grateful to UPMC for Life and Tobacco Free Adagio Health for sponsoring this event!

Special Event: Rocky Bleier at Fort Indiantown Gap, Tuesday, October 15, 2024 @ 8:30am-10:30am

Date: October 15, 2024
Time: 8:30 am - 10:30 am
Location: Fort Indiantown Gap Community Club (9-65 Fisher Ave, Annville, PA 17003)
Events | In-Person Events
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Join us for a FREE breakfast with Rocky Bleier at Fort Indiantown Gap on Tuesday, October 15 at 8:30am!

Pittsburgh Steeler and Vietnam Veteran Rocky Bleier will be at the Veterans Breakfast Club to to tell his awe-inspiring story of going to war, coming home, and fighting back to Super Bowl victory.

Breakfast will be served at 8:30am followed by a presentation by Rocky. This event is FREE but registration is required by October 8.

Registration is required for this event by Tuesday, October 8.

You must submit your name, as it appears on your Driver’s License or state ID, with your birthdate.

Questions? betty@veteransbreakfastclub.org or by calling 412-623-9029.

As of Nov. 1, 2023, Fort Indiantown Gap is a controlled-access installation. All visitors who do not have a Department of Defense Common Access Card (CAC), military ID or pre-screened compliant ID must be vetted through the National Crime Information Center Interstate Identification Index (NCIC-III).

Directions: I-81 to Exit 85 (Exit 85B NB) to Rt 934 (Fisher Ave) North. Stop at Main Control Point and show ID. Head north on Fisher Ave to Community Club.

Here is the Google Map location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/m5A9Vi2Y6YSkwu988

Most of us know the outlines of Rocky’s story: son of a Wisconsin tavern owner, all-state athlete in high school, National Champion at Notre Dame, and VERY late round draft pick (417th overall) for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1968.

Rocky makes the team, plays sparingly, then receives his draft notice.

Five months later, he’s in Vietnam, Company C, 4th Battalion (Light), 196th Light Infantry Brigade. On August 20, while on patrol about 60km southwest of Danang, his platoon gets ambushed. A enemy bullet rips into his left thigh. Then, an exploding grenade shreds his lower right leg and foot. Rocky’s war in Vietnam is over.

But his fight had just begun. Doctors reassured Rocky he’s be able to lead a normal life—except for football. Playing again was out of the question.

Out of the blue, he receives a postcard from legendary Steelers owner.

“Rock – the team’s not doing well. We need you. Art Rooney.”

That short note kickstarted a grueling rehabilitation that, in truth, took years. He couldn’t walk without pain and returned to the Steelers woefully underweight.

But he never gave up and ever so slowly climbed the ladder of football success.

1970: works out with the Steelers.

1971: makes the roster.

1972: plays every game.

1974: earns a starting position in the backfield, over five years after being wounded in a Vietnamese rice paddy.

Even without the four Super Bowls that followed, the Rocky Bleier story would be the most inspiring tale of grit in the history of sports.

But those championships made Rocky a household name and introduced millions of Americans to the qualities shaping a hero: commitment, determination, optimism, and humility.

Rocky Bleier has them all and shares what he’s learned from a hard life at war and in football with us.

RSVP by calling 412-623-9029 or emailing betty@veteransbreakfastclub.org.

Thank you to our event sponsors, Forge Health and UPMC for Life!

 

 

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PAST EVENTS

Streamed live on October 7, 2024 As part of Pittsburgh’s OktoberFest celebration, the Veterans Breakfast Club holds a storytelling event focused on veterans who have served in Germany since 1944. Eighty years ago this week, the US First Army fought it way into the historic town of Aachen, a western...
Streamed live on October 7, 2024 As part of Pittsburgh’s OktoberFest celebration, the Veterans Breakfast Club holds a storytelling event focused on veterans who have...
Streamed live on October 3, 2024 Operation Market Garden was the failed Allied attempt to hasten the end of the war by capturing key bridges...
Streamed live on September 30, 2024 VBC Scuttlebutt welcomes bestselling author Tony Swofford to talk about his iconic memoir, Jarhead: A Marine’s Chronicle of the...
Streamed live on September 23, 2024 VBC Scuttlebutt welcomes bestselling author Kristin Hannah to talk about her wildy popular and well-reviewed novel The Women. The...
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The mission of the Veterans Breakfast Club is to create communities of listening around veterans and their stories to ensure that this living history will never be forgotten.  We believe that through our work, people will be connected, educated, healed, and inspired.

INTRODUCING THE VETERANS HISTORY PROJECT

Preserving veterans’ stories so that this living history is never forgotten.

We pair passionate VBC volunteers with military veterans for one-on-one oral history interviews over Zoom. If you are a veteran, or you know a veteran, who would be interested in sharing his or her story with us, let us know. If you are someone interested in conducting these interviews, please reach out!

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Your weekly dose of veterans’ stories, military news, and the latest headlines, all in one place

Watch and listen to the Scuttlebutt, the VBC’s podcast dedicated to understanding military culture. Hosted by Shaun Hall, Director of Programming. New episode every Monday at 6AM ET.

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Latest Blog Posts

written by Todd DePastino On October 16, 1942, Convoy 125 (SL 125) sailed from Sierra Leone to Liverpool, England, unaware it was about to be...
written by Todd DePastino James Wilson at Viking Bags contacted me the other day to ask how the VBC could help connect their company–which makes...
Written by Todd DePastino WWII veteran Joe Gortiz passed away at 102 years old after falling and breaking his hip this past summer. Until then,...
Written by Todd DePastino Highlights of the first day of the 2024 Imperial War Museum’s Duxford Air Show included a jaw-dropping and eardrum-rattling display of...
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