OKEECHOBEE — Approximately 50 Vietnam veterans and their spouses were treated to a breakfast smorgasbord  March 29 in honor of National Vietnam War Veterans' Day.

Veteran Gregg Maynard said he has been thinking about ways to honor the Vietnam veterans, and recently, an anonymous donor gave money especially to help with this cause. Leah Suarez was also excited to contribute her unique set of skills to the effort.

“I knew David (Hazellief), Frank (DeCarlo), Mark (Bragel), Mike (Hazellief) and the guys would want to help, so we all got together to figure out what we wanted to do,” said Maynard. “Those guys are always great at helping out with anything I ask them to do.”

They did not have long to plan it but had help from some of the crew at Our Village, and Bragel (Brown Cow) agreed to make the coffee. “Mark wouldn’t even let us pay for the coffee. He provided it himself,” said Maynard.

Maynard took care of applying for and obtaining the permit to use the park. Matt Buxton allowed them to use his tent and chairs.

As usual, Sheriff Noel Stephen was right in the middle of the food preparation. “He likes to do that.” John Entry helped with the cooking too.

They served eggs, pancakes, biscuits and gravy.

One of Maynard’s favorite parts of the experience was watching the veterans get out and meet each other. He said one of the men is a bit of a recluse and only attended because his wife pestered him until he agreed. He ended up meeting a neighbor who is also a veteran. The two plan to get together regularly now.

Maynard is working on plans for the Memorial Day ceremony and hopes to see a good turn out this year.