EPISODE 47- Veterans Breakfast: Connection, Camaraderie, and Community

Episode 47 – Veterans Breakfast: Connection, Camaraderie, and Community

For many veterans, the hardest battles don’t end when they come home. In this episode, Jamie sits down with Ron Khol, a longtime veteran, law enforcement officer, and community leader, to talk about the powerful impact of the Veterans Breakfast in Southern Oregon. What started as a simple gathering has become something much deeper—a place where veterans can connect, share, and feel understood.

Ron shares firsthand stories that highlight the brotherhood and sisterhood among veterans—something that often can’t be explained, only experienced. From quiet struggles to powerful moments of connection, this conversation reveals why spaces like the Veterans Breakfast are so important for healing, support, and community.

In this episode, we discuss:

•  The purpose and impact of the Veterans Breakfast gatherings
•  Why connection with fellow veterans is so important after service 
•  The unseen struggles many veterans carry home 
•  How community creates healing, belonging, and support 
•  Real stories of camaraderie and life-changing moments 
•  How the breakfast welcomes both new and longtime attendees 
•  The role of local support and sponsorship in keeping it free for veterans 

If you are a veteran—or know someone who is—this episode is a reminder that you are not alone. Spaces like the Veterans Breakfast offer more than just a meal—they offer connection, understanding, and a place to belong. 

At Team Senior™, our mission is to guide you and support you through the maze of Southern Oregon Long-Term Care.

📞 For Team Senior resources, call: 541-295-8230

Or visit our website for more information: https://www.teamsenior.org/

Transcript

Episode 47 – Veterans Breakfast: Connection, Camaraderie, and Community

JAMIE: Hi, this is Jamie Callahan with the Team Senior Podcast. Our goal is to simplify aging. Society grooms us to plan for retirement, but what about life beyond retirement — where the rubber meets the road? Perhaps you've had a stroke, or you've been diagnosed with cancer, or maybe you're forgetting things and now you have dementia. That's our area of expertise, and we are here to share our insight. And now, the Team Senior Podcast.

Hi, this is Jamie, and I'm in the studio today with Ron Khol. Ron is very near and dear to my heart. He is really — I don't know — just such a figure in Southern Oregon around the veterans. He has been working for a very long time on a project, which we're not going to talk about today, but it is under the SOVB — the Southern Oregon Veterans Benefit.

We are here to talk about something different, and before we dive into that, I want Ron to introduce himself. What is your background? Because you have a very impressive one.

RON: Thank you very much. My name is Ron Khol. I've got a little bit of time in the services. I've been in the Air Force and the Army, and I had 25 years. I was with Strategic Air Command, and I came out of the Army as a drill sergeant. Then I didn't have enough, so I've got 30 years in law enforcement — with the city, the state, and the county. So I've got a little bit of a "I know where you live" type of thing.

JAMIE: He also had a business for a while where he was focusing on fraud prevention, and we've had him speak at various events. It's a beautiful background and I'm honored to know you, Ron.

RON: Thank you.

JAMIE: So Ron approached me — it's been probably close to 10 years ago now, and I don't even remember how we met — but I will never forget the conversation where you said, "Hey, we have this Veterans Breakfast that we do every week at Punky in Medford, and we would really like to start a Veterans Breakfast in Grants Pass, but we're not really sure where to get started." So Ron, I'm gonna let you continue on that story.

RON: We found out that there were veterans up there that were in need. You gotta understand these vets — because you might see a hat, but you don't know what's underneath that hat. There's a lot of pain. There's a lot of things that have occurred that people don't know about. I know this because every time I see a hat, I greet them. I've had family members walk out with me and say, "My gosh, my dad, my brother, my uncle — they never spoke about a thing, but look what they talked with you." That's because there's a brotherhood and a sisterhood. We know you don't have to have been in every battle, but we know what it is to battle. Because when we raised our hand — up to and including death, 24 hours, seven days a week — that bond is there.

JAMIE: This is something that we've witnessed happen in these breakfasts on a regular basis. It's amazing, because there are several gentlemen that attend the breakfast who have written books that really speak to that exact sentiment — where they came home from whatever war they were in, and it was very hard for their families to understand why they were no longer affectionate, why they leapt out of bed when they were touched, why they threw a child across a room when they were woken while sleeping in a rocking chair. These are all stories that I've heard firsthand, and it gives me chills. I feel so honored to have been brought into this. I'm not a veteran, but if you know me, Ron — you know me.

RON: Yes, I do.

JAMIE: I love the folks that have served our country. I grew up in a veteran family, and I am so very committed to serving veterans in every way possible.

RON: You've gone ahead and reached out so much, and now look at what we have — all of our meals paid for at Punky every time, and now the people that wouldn't want to come have reached out and said, "Can I come in?" Yes. You're welcome. Now. Not tomorrow — now. We want you.

JAMIE: That's right. So at Punky, the breakfast has been going for a very long time. It has since changed — it's not every week. Now they have it on the second Wednesday of every month at 7:00 AM. And in Grants Pass, we have it on the first Thursday of every month at 9:00 AM at Taprock. And it is free.

We have worked very hard. Over the years we've sometimes been capable of getting four, five, or six months paid for by various sponsors in the community. But we met a woman in 2023 by the name of Cheryl Bright, who called the restaurant and asked if she could get in touch with me because she wanted to buy a breakfast in her father's honor. Her father is William Davidson, a World War II veteran who was in memory care at the time. In his honor, she wanted to buy the breakfast in December of 2023.

Something I always say when I'm at the front of the room is that doing the Veterans Breakfast is my very favorite part of my job. I leave there and my cup is full. My job is very hard. I work in crisis all day, every day, with families that are sometimes completely lost and broken down emotionally. So how I rebuild myself is by going to the Veterans Breakfast and feeling so appreciated for the ways that we're giving back.

Cheryl now feels the exact same way. She took it upon herself to, in her father's honor, purchase breakfast for the entire year of 2024 in Grants Pass. Absolutely unbelievably amazing. Because she loves coming — just like I do. She now says it is the very favorite part of her job too. She fundraised for both Medford and Grants Pass for the entire year of 2025.

And you have to understand — it's a lot of money. There are about 30 people who go to the breakfast in Medford, and there are close to 100 in Grants Pass. In December we had 112 veterans come. Imagine what the bill is — it's about $1,400 to $1,600 every month just in Grants Pass. I have to really give it to Cheryl for fundraising that.

RON: That's marvelous. When I walk in, everybody says hi to everybody — because you're a brother, you're a sister, you're part of it. You wear a hat, we know who you are. We know where you've been. We know what you're thinking and how you feel. So don't try to come over and play games, because my drill sergeant kicks in and I say, "Knock it off."

JAMIE: I have seen that drill sergeant kick in. And the Veterans Breakfast is very accommodating. We've had folks call me ahead of time and say, "I have social anxiety and I really need to sit in a chair where my back is to a wall." Those are things that we can completely accommodate and are very respectful of.

To Ron's point — and I can really only speak to the Grants Pass Veterans Breakfast — when we started, I would say 85% of that room didn't know each other at all.

RON: Oh, no.

JAMIE: It was such a beautiful evolution. When we launched it, we had 136 people. Can you remember that?

RON: That was so crazy. Those were great days. Marvelous.

JAMIE: 136 people at the very first Veterans Breakfast! And these guys were so grateful that we were having it. Back in the day, we started at 7:00 AM — I would get there at 5:00 AM to start setting up and there would already be a line of veterans at the door.

RON: Over at Punky, we don't start till seven, but the doors open at six-thirty and we're already in there. And why? Because these guys are waiting to go. I usually tell them, "Alright, today you're only allowed five lies. Now go ahead — talk to each other."

I had one gentleman — a Black man — and he walked up to the door to the back room and he stopped. I went over and asked him, "What's the matter, brother? What's going on?" He says, "I cannot get in there amongst the crowds. It bothers me immensely." I said, "Would you like to sit outside here? As we get settled, I'll come and get you so you can be part of it." He said okay.

Then one of the other guys sitting at the table called out, "Hey Ron, who you got there?" A newbie. He says, "Get him over here." So I asked the man, "Would you mind coming over and meeting these guys?" He walked over. "Where are you from, brother? Here's a chair — plant yourself right here with us. You are amongst us."

And that was it. He sat down, and all of a sudden he was home. He had friends. He knew what they were talking about because they were there, or they know about it.

When he got up to leave, I said, "Alright, there's one thing I know you need right now." I gave him a hug. He walked out, stopped at the door, turned around and looked at me — and he was crying.

After that, he started coming back. Then one day he came in, and before I could say anything, he had to leave for an appointment. I said, "What'd you come in for then?" He said, "I had to get my hug."

JAMIE: Oh my goodness gracious!

RON: And in that small room, we have things go on. We had a Vietnam vet come in and show us a picture of a plane crash in Vietnam — it was significant because we lost a lot of men off that plane. All of a sudden, one of the Air Force guys said, "Wait — I know what this is. That's a C-5A."

When that plane came in to land, a jet was on the same path moving too fast and couldn't move in time. He ejected and hit the other C-5A. The only survivor was a crew chief.

And in that little room — two people who were part of the same event, who otherwise would never have met each other. A gentleman in the corner raised his hand and said, "I was the man who trained that pilot for the C-5A. I failed him twice and was ordered to pass him." He was ordered to do it. The man was going the wrong way down the taxiway.

In that little room — that's what we got. You never know what's under the hat when you look at someone. And the stories — I've seen this happen over and over again at the Veterans Breakfast. It has been such a beautiful thing to witness.

JAMIE: And one thing I am often concerned about — and I share this all the time — is that the younger generation of veterans isn't really forming the comradery of getting together and being supported by brothers and sisters they served with.

We see this at the breakfasts. Like I said, probably 85% of the people at that first Veterans Breakfast did not know each other at all. Some of the very best friendships have been formed as a result of these two breakfasts.

If you've been in a theater of war or combat, you know the sights, the sounds, the smells. And then someone from the outside tries to say, "Wait — you're a baby killer." Oh, we've heard that so many times. You have no idea what they went through. They did their job, and they did it well.

RON: We fought everybody in front of us to protect everybody behind us. That's our theory.

JAMIE: That is an excellent point. And I think the general population — when we see veterans, many of us thank them for their service, shake their hands, maybe buy their lunch anonymously. But it is impossible to comprehend what someone has endured if they have been to war.

Over and over again, I have had the opportunity to know someone through the Veterans Breakfast and then read a synopsis of their experiences — something they wrote for their family, or a book. There's one book in particular by a gentleman from the Douglas County area. His name is Thomas North. I know him as this very soft, lovely chaplain who I got to know through the VFW. He would say the prayer at the Roseburg Veterans Breakfast.

After I read his book — and I think it was particularly profound for me because I knew him, so I read it as if I could hear his voice saying every word — I had an enormous amount of respect for him. No veteran goes around self-proclaiming their medals, and he was no different. But he was all of those things, and what he endured was unbelievable. Over and over again, the peers he had trained with and loved and served with were essentially annihilated — and he lived. Every time he shares in his book that he did not have religion before he went to war, but came back wanting to serve his church.

RON: It is unbelievable. We have a saying: no man or woman is left behind. I know that for a fact because I have a person on my board — a helicopter pilot. They had a platoon that was trapped, and the generals were saying, "We don't know what's going on — we can't do anything." He went to his crew chief and said, "Give me some ammunition, give me some gas." And that was it. He took off.

He got there, got on the radio, broke silence, and told them to get away from a certain area. He scraped the area and cleared out the enemy. Made a hole so they could get out, then covered them on the other side. You'll never hear about it because it's not on the books. That's what "no brother or sister is left behind" means.

JAMIE: That is, among so many stories I've heard that are truly moving... I am so honored to be a part of the Veterans Breakfast. I really want to encourage people to come — the entire generation. But I especially want to encourage the younger generation to understand what it is like to be supported by folks who can truly understand what you endured in Afghanistan, or wherever you've been in more recent history. You are not alone.

RON: No. We want you. Come. We have a term we use — lead, follow, or get out of my way.

JAMIE: I can totally hear those words coming out of your mouth as a drill sergeant, because I have seen you in that mode.

RON: Thank you.

JAMIE: Ron, if you could share with folks the value of coming to the Veterans Breakfast — what does it do for you every month?

RON: It is so great to see these guys every time they come in. I get phone calls from them all the time — simple little things. "Ron, did you hear anything from the VA on this?" "Can I get that information again?" Being a source to help feed them.

One vet got to me before a weekly breakfast and something was clearly wrong. I said, "Wait a minute, partner. What's the matter?" He said, "I've been waiting two years for my hearing aids." I said, "What?" I went to the VA, got all three division heads to come over and have breakfast with us, and we found out what was going on. Two weeks later, he had his hearing aids.

JAMIE: It pays to know how to move the dial — and it pays to know the right people. I say this all the time: I'm so honored to work alongside you, Terry Haynes, Pete Pringle, and all these people who are moving mountains and doing remarkable things for veterans every day. It is my honor.

RON: I've been president for the Honor Flight. I'm president for the Vietnam Wall. They said, "Wait a minute, you retired." Yes. And I'm working harder now.

JAMIE: I know you are. You and Terry both run circles around me. But it's worth it — to see a smile come on someone's face is a million bucks.

RON: To see somebody liven up and feel supported and loved and understood — it's worth it.

I've explained things to families that have had problems. Even my own brother. He went to Iraq, was in combat, saw some of his buddies killed. Before he went over, I talked to him in two ways — one as a brother: "Keep your butt down, come home, I want to see you again." And one as a drill sergeant. Because what a drill sergeant does is train you to live and come home.

I got three phone calls from him out of Iraq. He said, "Brother, you saved my life today." I said, "Thank you for listening."

JAMIE: That's close to home. No kidding.

I want to wrap it up, Ron, but I want to say thank you so much for coming today. I really want to emphasize with this podcast the importance of being among your peers. If you're a veteran, the Veterans Breakfast is a great opportunity to do that. It's a free meal. You're going to walk into a room full of folks who genuinely understand you.

RON: If you walk in, yell for Ron. I'm the only Ron in there. I'll find a space for you. Gonna sit down. If there's not enough room, we'll make it.

JAMIE: Ron and I — and Terry too — we're really good at finding the people who are new and making sure they feel welcome and understand the program. It's very simple. We do have speakers come to the Veterans Breakfast, but nobody is going to talk at you for 20 or 30 minutes. Our objective is to find some new resources in the community and share those with you. But our number one goal is to get you with your brothers and sisters, if you are a veteran, and help you feel supported. You are not alone.

RON: You're not alone. Come on down.

JAMIE: That's right. Thank you, Ron, for being here today.

RON: Thank you.

JAMIE: Thank you for listening to the Team Senior Podcast. We're here every week sharing new and relevant information. Remember, we're just a phone call away. Team Senior can be reached at 541-295-8230. Again, that's 541-295-8230. Until next time, this is Jamie Callahan.