Researchers seek to tap bartenders at VFW canteens

At some point, I would have gotten around to writing about bartenders and about vets, as well as about bartenders AND vets, but this morning's USA Today has this great piece by Gregg Zoroya, and it's much better than anything I was planning to write about today.

So, here's the first few paragraphs of Gregg's story, and it's worth reading the complete piece. When you're done reading, be sure to tip your bartender, to hug the nearest veteran, and to take the time to pray for those serving in the armed forces at home and abroad.

Vietnam War veteran Steve Miller is helped through a doorway, past the sign that says "NO profanity allowed" and to a corner stool of the Veterans of Foreign Wars bar. Other vets in the canteen surge forward to slap him on the back or shake his hand.

Miller, who lost his eyesight and his left hand to a mine in 1969, is a minor celebrity in these parts for his veterans work. But the bartender, Charlena "Charley" Wolfe, 49 — a blur of motion behind the bar preparing drinks on this busy day — treats Miller like everyone else, although she does have his favorite drink, a Bud Light, waiting.

"She's a friend. She's a buddy," says Miller, 60, after the fussing settles down a bit. "I talk with Charley any chance I get."

Researchers here in Ohio are seizing on this almost-familial link that VFW bartenders, many of them women, have with veterans.

In a pilot study released last year titled The Healing Tonic, Ohio State University researchers surveyed VFW bartenders about their interactions with veterans and whether they could, especially with a little training, notice signs of illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Bartenders have naturally been thought of as these de facto counselors over time. So people often tell their troubles to bartenders," says Keith Anderson, lead author and an assistant professor of social work at Ohio State. "What we found, as anticipated, was that (VFW) bartenders were very close to the veterans, often referring to them as similar to family."

[The remainder of this copyrighted article can be read online: http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2011-03-22-bartender22_ST_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip] © 2011 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.