Jana and Bruce Drazich and the Battle Ground Senior Citizens Inc. have organized a luncheon for veterans at Prairie Tavern in Brush Prairie on the third Friday of every month

Paul Valencia
Clark County Today

They have been married for more than 50 years. They are a team.

Bruce Drazich, however, takes no credit for the luncheon. This was all Jana Drazich’s idea, he said.

For close to two years now, a group of military veterans have been getting together for a monthly lunch at Prairie Tavern in Brush Prairie. 

Sometimes it is 10 people. Sometimes it’s 20. There are a mix of older veterans, from the Korean and Vietnam Wars, for example. And there are younger veterans of the more recent war on terror, those who deployed to the Middle East. 

Also welcome are veterans who served without serving in a combat zone.

Veterans are veterans, and all are welcome. So, too, are their spouses.

There is nothing official about the group. One does not have to belong to an association, such as a veterans group. The luncheon is organized by Battle Ground Senior Citizens Inc. 

Simply put, if you are a veteran and want to buy lunch and enjoy the company of other veterans, you will be welcome at 11:30 a.m. on the third Friday of every month at Prairie Tavern, 14925 NE Caples Road, Brush Prairie.

“It’s important for us to be together. People need a place to come and talk and be themselves and share,” Jana Drazich said.

Jana served in the United States Navy in the 1970s. Bruce and Jana met while both were in the Navy.

Bruce acknowledged he wasn’t too sure of Jana’s idea at first. 

“I kind of hang out by myself. It wasn’t my thing,” Bruce said.

But he was hooked as soon as they started meeting other veterans at the tavern.

“This has been good. It’s for veterans to share stories, and to find out what’s going on in your life. It’s a chance to get away and find out what everybody has done and what they are presently doing.”

Prairie Tavern sets up a few tables together at a section of its dining area for the veterans. It is important to note that veterans do pay for their meals and drinks. This is a gathering point, to enjoy one’s company.

Jim Daley, an Army veteran, said the Battle Ground Senior Citizens group has close to 80 veterans. The organization has a calling tree, to reach out to members at least once a month. A while back, one veteran stayed on the phone for close to an hour. That person was simply lonely, just wanted to talk to someone. 

Many veterans can relate, Daley said.

“Getting together is important to certain individuals,” Daley said. “Bruce and Jana decided an activity would be a good thing.”

Two years later, that activity is still going strong at Prairie Tavern.