On Saturday, Aug. 3, military veterans from across Jacksonville stopped by Applebee’s on Butler Boulevard for a free breakfast in honor of their service.
Hosted by the We Can Be Heroes foundation, the event included a complimentary breakfast of pancakes and eggs, with bacon and sausage sides, along with coffee and orange juice.
“This is the second time here that we’ve done the breakfast,” said Capt. Ryman Shof, retired Navy captain who served for almost 28 years. “We work with Clara White Mission because one of the things we do at We Can Be Heroes is feed the homeless veterans.”
Volunteers from Clara White served breakfast to the honored veterans while Shof and We Can Be Heroes founder, Beth Heath, hosted the event.
A raffle and silent auction had prizes like crystal home décor, patriotic oven mitts, books written by veterans and locally made Two Titmice Vodka. The fundraiser breakfast will underwrite an Oct. 26 memorial ceremony in honor of those left behind in Benghazi. The ceremony will be at UNF’s Herbert Center.
“We’re the only group in the United States that does an annual Benghazi memorial for those left behind in Benghazi,” Heath said.
He mentioned that other groups had started Benghazi tributes and memorials, but We Can Be Heroes is the only foundation that continues it today.
“This country offers nothing, but opportunity,” said Jimmy Hill, former Atlantic Beach City Councilman and 2019 mayoral candidate who also attended the event to serve veterans their breakfast. “These people right here took risks and literally put their necks on the line for us while we were children or before we were born, so to serve them breakfast is nothing.”
We Can Be Heroes is an all-volunteer nonprofit in Jacksonville, Florida, that recognizes heroic acts across the country, whether it be honoring community heroes or U.S. military veterans that have made a difference.
For more information, visit www.wecanbeheroesfoundation.org.
