Thanks to Dave, vets gather for coffee, conversation

Each Tuesday, 50 vets gather in south Minneapolis to connect, thanks to Midway resident Dave Dahl.
Dahl, 77, has led a life of service from being a Cub Scout as a child through his military career and now as a retired veteran. Dahl got involved with the American Legion and the VA about four years ago. He became active in a suicide prevention coalition, recognizing that every day, 23 veterans are lost to suicide. ”People would meet together from around the state once a month online,” he said. “There was a lot of talk, but it did not seem like there was any action.”
Dahl – together with Wade Larson and Ray Eiden – formed the idea of having Coffee Talk, a group where veterans could sit around, drink coffee and talk about whatever was on their minds.
“We needed a place to do it,” said Dahl. Tom McKenna and his wife Jessi, who run Every Third Saturday (ETS), an organization that provides opportunities for vets, offered a space at their location, 5402 43rd Ave. S., in Minneapolis.
They decided to meet every Tuesday morning from 9 a.m. until noon.
“For quite awhile it was just the three of us, then the other two had to drop out due to health issues, and it was just me. Coffee Talk finally took off about three years ago,” Dahl said.
Matt Smith and Buzz Farrell joined him and kept it going when Dahl took some classes for five weeks. “Now we have about 50 vets who come on various Tuesdays; usually there are around 15 each time. They come to just talk. We have enough training that we recognize when someone needs some personal attention.”
Dahl said it is hard to wrap words around what it is like for two vets to connect, no matter which generation or branch of service they come from. Coffee Talk started out as a Legion program, but now is an ETS program.
Jon Engfer is director of Warriors Return, a five-week program dedicated to help returning vets spiritually, physically and emotionally.
“We look at how we manage our feelings and project towards others,” he noted. “We help vets redefine their next steps and find purpose in belonging. We help them re-establish themselves and take their positions in their families and communities.”
Engfer said Dahl, who graduated from Warriors Return two years ago, has the heart to serve his brothers and sisters. “He will take the shirt off his back and go above and beyond to meet the needs (of others) wherever he is called.
“He is a big reason Coffee Talk has taken off,” Engfer continued. “He has been consistent, reliable and forthright.”
Engfer said he really liked that Dahl’s wife has been a part of the vets’ community.
“What is attractive about Dave and other older vets in Coffee Talk is that they really care,” Engfer said. “And Dave has been transparent with his own challenges.”

MILIARY EXPERIENCE
Dahl reflected on his experiences in the military. “I started in 1956 in high school as a member of the National Guard in North Dakota,” he said. “My dad was a World War II vet and serving in the North Dakota Guard and recruited me.”
He said that at that time he wanted to have a career in the military and after high school went directly to the US Air Force Academy.
“After a year and a half, I went home and my dad told me I had just blown a free education.” Dahl then enlisted in the U.S. Army and entered basic training.
“I went to Vietnam, but I was lucky. I served as a clerk typist and then a personnel specialist.”
Dahl served his first stretch of active duty. When he got out, he couldn’t afford to go to college on the GI bill, so he went back into the North Dakota National Guard in 1973. “They sent me to Officer Candidate School in 1974 in Florida.”
In 1974, Dahl completed his degree in computer science. “There were not many computer shops in North Dakota, so I moved to Minnesota,” he said.
He joined the Minnesota National Guard and worked in engineering in downtown Minneapolis. He was sent to Litchfield and spent the years 1974 to 1985 working in various positions, eventually as commander.
In 1985 Dahl joined the Army Reserve at Ft. Snelling. He said half his unit was in the active reserve in Germany, and in 1985 he was called up to Bosnia for nine months of active duty on a peacekeeping mission.
“I ended my military service after that, and after 31 years I retired,” Dahl said. “That goes back a long time.”
Dahl recalled that one night after his retirement he and his wife were having dinner out when they saw a fellow who attended their church walk past. “He said he was on his way to a meeting of his Legion Post. It was a struggling little group, down to 14 members. Today we have about 50.”

CARING FOR OTHERS
Dahl’s service is not limited to the military.
He has served as an election judge in his precinct for about 20 years.
He has also been a member of the Midway Men’s Club for 30 years. “We have a stand at the fair every year and sell beer and sandwiches,” he said. The profits are donated to youth activities. “We have expanded from just supporting athletic activities to Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, and to serving not just St. Paul but Ramsey County.”
When Dahl considers his life of service and being a good neighbor, he explained it this way.
“I’ve always felt that if I care about others when my moment of need comes there will be someone out there to reach out and hold my hand.”