Written by Todd DePastino After reading our Veterans Breakfast Club blog post on the Australian slouch hat, retired Australian Regular Army Warrant Officer Class II Clinton Findlay reached out with some insights—and some strong feelings—about the history and meaning of the iconic headgear.In the post from 2020, I argued that the slouch hat, with
Written by Todd DePastino Jack Reid of the Veterans Group of Pine Hills in Plymouth, Massachusetts, recently shared with us the World War II journal of John Edward Jameson, a U.S. Navy veteran who served aboard the battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55). Jack carefully scanned and transcribed the original logbook entries, preserving the record
Written by Todd DePastino One of the oldest World War II veterans in the world passed away on April 6 at age 108. Bill Monfort was born on December 17, 1916, and joined the Navy at age 18 in 1935. He grew up in Plains, Georgia, and knew well "little Jimmy Carter," who was
Written by Todd DePastino WWII veteran Ed Cottrell passed away quietly on March 28, 2025, after just a couple weeks in hospice. He was 103 years old and participated in Veterans Breakfast Club Zoom conversations right up to the end. We will post memorial service arrangements as we receive them. Ed was perhaps the
by George Kokiko George Kokiko attended our storytelling programs often in the early days of the Veterans Breakfast Club. He never shared his story, but he listened closely to others and jotted notes in his little notebook through each breakfast. One day, I ran into George at a grocery store and remarked that I
As told to Todd DePastino Julia Parsons is the last surviving codebreaker of World War II. On March 2, 2025, she will turn 104 years old. Julia served in the Navy WAVES and was assigned to the Shark Division at the Naval Communications Annex in Washington, DC, where he worked on
