BAY MINETTE — Excitement was in the air last Saturday as people gathered in the dining room at the William F. Green State Veteran Facility in Bay Minette for a lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs. It wasn’t the food that put the smiles on the faces of the men. It was the fact that they would have a chance to sit and talk with the younger veterans who were cooking their lunch.

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5660 in Fairhope organized the lunch and enlisted the help of volunteers from VFW Post 5226 in Robertsdale.

John Myers, Don Dixon, Ed Coburn, Jerzy Czaplinski and Bob Hempfling and the bar manager from their club, LaGina Pritchard, were joined by Larry Mullinax, Scott Poole and Chuck Brock to grill the hamburgers and hot dogs and then visit with the residents.

Post 5660 has a large grill that they load onto a trailer, enabling them to cook almost anywhere, and they brought it with them to cook the meal for the veterans.

Mullinax, Robertsdale VFW post commander, said, “We like coming here and talking with these guys. They appreciate the company, and it’s the least we can do for them.”

Myers, senior vice-commander of the Fairhope VFW, agreed.

“It’s always a pleasure for us to come here to see these guys. It’s a way we can show respect and appreciation for them. We’re glad to do whatever we can. We wish we could do more,” he said.

Gerald Floyd, who was among the U.S. Marines at Iwo Jima, has been at the facility since December. He made his way to the dining room a little early in anticipation of the VFW visit.

“I’m always glad to see them. I like talking to them. You know, we’ve been there and done that, and they’ve been there and done that,” he said.

William Etheridge, a U.S. Navy veteran, immediately spotted the young Fairhope VFW bar manager. “I want my picture taken with a pretty girl,” he said, nodding at Pritchard who quickly gave him a hug and had her picture taken with him.

Once her picture was taken with Etheridge, Pritchard stood back and watched the men. It was her first visit to the facility but she said she will certainly be returning.

“I’m having fun with these guys. They are great. You can tell they really enjoy the company,” she said.

Etheridge, according to his friends, is a “terrible flirt.” He took their ribbing with a good-natured grin as he joined Navy veterans Clarence Taylor and William Smith at a table where they were talking with Myers, who also served in the Navy.

Taylor made an effort to include his friend, Ezra Beasley, a World War II U.S. Air Army veteran, saying, “He was in China. He can tell some stories about that.”

Mark Ridgeway, a U.S. Air Force veteran was also encouraged to join the group crowded around the table.

All around the dining room there were groups of young men talking with older men. Laughter, handshakes and pats on the back seemed to feed the spirits of the veterans even more than the hot grilled food.

Director of Recreational Services Shelly Bates said, “They always get really excited when the VFW comes. They say, ‘those are our guys.’ William Etheridge, William Smith and Clarence Taylor — their faces just lit up when they found out John Myers from the Fairhope VFW was in the Navy,” she observed.

Brock said the community as a whole is encouraged to visit the facility and become involved with the residents. “We want the vets to feel like they are part of the community,” she said.

Volunteers are always welcome and indeed needed, according to Brock.

“We have one guy who wants to play pinochle. Well, we have two others that play pinochle but we need a fourth. I wish somebody from the community could come out a couple of times a week to play pinochle with them,” she said.

Brock said there are volunteer opportunities for men and women.

“We have four women veterans here but they don’t usually come out for these things,” she said.

Volunteers are needed to lead small groups in games and crafts. They also need somebody to play music. “They can play the piano or a guitar or any instrument. Our residents love music,” she said.

Brock said some people don’t even realize the veterans facility is in Bay Minette. “If they knew we were here, I think some senior citizen groups would come out and visit with these guys. They have so many wonderful stories to tell, and they love to have somebody to talk to. A volunteer can just come out and talk to them,” she said.

It was evident as the resident veterans laughed and talked with the men from the Fairhope and Robertsdale VFW posts that they were enjoying the company of their younger brothers-in-arms.

Myers said all the men on hand from the Fairhope VFW are Vietnam veterans. “We know it could be any of us in here, and we just want to show our respect for these veterans,” he said.