For the past two years, a small group of Harvard veterans has gathered for breakfast at Hildreth House at 9 a.m. on the second Tuesday of each month.
The group is a spinoff of the Council on Aging’s Wednesday men’s coffee café, according to Carl Sciple, the group’s informal leader. “COA Director Debbie Thompson knew there were veterans in town,” recalled Sciple, a former captain in the U.S. Army, where he served for 24 years. “Debbie came to me and asked, ‘How would you like a vets breakfast? We’ve got Wednesday coffee every month, so how about a little get-together for vets?’”
Army veteran Walter Giffen. (Photos by Lisa Aciukewicz)
This Tuesday, three days ahead of Veterans Day, which falls this year on a Friday, eight veterans, representing four branches of the U.S. military, sat down for a breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausages, fruits, bagels, OJ, and coffee, hosted by Thompson and Pamela McInnis, the program coordinator at the COA.
The group included five Army veterans, a Marine, an Air Force officer, and a Navy corpsman. John Knowles, a former U.S. Marine, is a resident of Devens and the rest are residents of Harvard. They are a small sample of the approximately 186 veterans who live in town. Sciple told the Press that conversation among the five to 10 people who attend the all-male group each month rarely touches on their experiences as soldiers, sailors, and airmen.
“They come for companionship, to learn about each other, to discuss a myriad of topics—the Veterans Administration, the town and its inhabitants, businesses in town, and the costs of living in Harvard,” Sciple said.
The longest-serving member present Tuesday was retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. David Smith (father of Press photographer and co-owner Lisa Aciukewicz). Smith enlisted in the National Guard while in high school and stayed with the Army for 43 years.
“I was an infantryman,” he said, and spent a lot of time with the Special Forces. “That made it interesting,” he said with a chuckle, but he seemed reluctant to say more.
Walter Giffen, on the other hand, described himself as “the only short-timer” in the group. Giffen was drafted in 1965. He told the group he had received a letter from his draft board asking him to appear in Boston for a pre-induction physical. Bring a toothbrush, the letter said. The advice was prescient. That night he called his mother to tell her that he was in the Army, at Fort Polk in Louisiana. Giffen served two years, including time in Vietnam.
Others present for Tuesday’s gathering included Duane Barber, a 30-year veteran of the U.S Army where he served with Special Forces; Ira Ockene, a cardiologist who served two years with the U.S. Army before retiring with the rank of major; Loren Johnson, a veteran of the U.S. Navy and landing craft beachmaster; and Jim deZutter, who served 27 years, “all active duty,” in the U.S. Air Force.
“I feel very lucky having been in the Army or any service,” said Sciple as the meeting drew to a close. “I loved it. Sure, there were hard times. But the camaraderie was unbelievable.”
“Veterans Day is for the guys who are still alive; Memorial Day is for those who aren’t,” reflected deZutter. “Quite frankly, that’s why the flag is flying, the stars and stripes.”
From left: John Knowles, Carl Sciple, and Jim DeZutter.
Clockwise, from left: Duane Barber, Walter Giffen, Dave Smith, Loren Johnson, John Knowles, Carl Sciple, Jim DeZutter, and Ira Ockene gather for a veterans café at Hildreth House, Nov. 8. The men swapped stories—from bootcamp to battles—over breakfast prepared by Council on Aging Director Debbie Thompson (background) and COA volunteers. .
