The Face I'll Never Forget — Why I Started Operation Coffee
Operation Coffee Podcast · Episode 3 · Solo
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In 2017 I was living in Madison, fixing grinder sewage pumps, and the company went under. I had bought a house a couple of months before that. It was right around Memorial Day, which is already a hard week for me, and I had no idea what I was going to do next.
A case manager asked me what I liked to do. I said, sarcastically, that I liked to drink coffee — because at that point I didn't like doing anything. She said, well, do something with that. I bought a popcorn popper from Goodwill and started from there.
A little while after that I ended up at Semper Fi Odyssey, a week-long course in the hills of Pennsylvania. That is where I met people who are still in my life today. And that is where something happened that I am never going to forget. A guy there got word that his friend had ended his own life. I still picture his face. I still remember the table he was sitting at. He said he just wished he could have been there.
That is the moment that molded what Operation Coffee is. I don't want people to make that decision. And I don't want the people who love them to hurt like that man hurt.
This one is me talking about why the business exists, why I finally started a podcast after being against it for years, and what I am hoping this show does. If it helps one person, that is the goal.
Recorded in the roasting room at Operation Coffee in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. 14 minutes.
This episode talks about suicide. If you are struggling, you can call or text 988 in the U.S. Veterans and service members, press 1.
Coffee. Conversation. Connection.