Local veterans invited for free dinner, camaraderie at Sharpsburg VFW
Local veterans who served at any time and in any location are welcome to the Sharpsburg VFW for a free dinner on Sunday.
“We don’t care where you live, where you served or for how long,” Post 709 Commander Pat Corcoran said. “This is veterans celebrating veterans.
“We’d love to pack the place but if it’s only 10 of us, that’s still great. We’ll break bread and have a good time.”
VFW Post 709 is at 1017 Main St. This is the fourth annual dinner hosted by Corcoran, a retired Air Force sergeant who served in the Gulf War.
Doors open at 5 p.m.
The event will feature a catered meal and entertainment provided by the band Harmony and Song. Veterans are allowed to bring one guest.
Brad Harrison, a board member of Veterans Place of Washington Boulevard, applauded the efforts by the Sharpsburg post.
“Anything that we can do to help veterans is important,” he said.
Veterans Place, in Pittsburgh’s Larimer section, helps homeless veterans transition into self-sufficiency through various programs.
Harrison said a recent fundraiser there paid for a bus to transport homeless vets to the facility for a warm meal.
“There are a number of veterans who routinely need help with food and I think it’s great that Sharpsburg VFW is making that happen,” Harrison said.
Corcoran said a hot dinner is an added perk to the shared fellowship between attendees at the annual dinner.
“The biggest thing is us celebrating each other,” he said. “You can go to Denny’s and get a free meal but they don’t know what you’ve been through. We speak the same language, we went through the same trials of being in a position you just can’t quit.
“Everybody’s got stories and this is a chance to share them.”
Corcoran said a small table will be set to pay honor to POWs and MIAs.
It will have a single place-setting, one rose, an inverted glass and a red ribbon.
“This table symbolizes the fact that members are missing from our ranks, so we join together to pay humble tribute to them,” Corcoran said.
Reservations are due by Nov. 3 by calling 412-781-7771 or emailing vfwpost709@gmail.com. Include a name and whether a guest is joining.
Tawnya Panizzi is a TribLive reporter. She joined the Trib in 1997. She can be reached at tpanizzi@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.