Fran O’Brien’s Stadium Steakhouse

Here's a great story about recuperating OEF/OIF vets.

Photos by Joe Gromelski / S&S
Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz talks with Sgt. Brian Doyne of Fayetteville, Ga., during the weekly gathering for wounded troops at Fran O'Brien's Stadium Steakhouse in Washington, D.C., on April 15.

These wounded veterans are the guests of honor, enjoying a night out as they undergo medical rehabilitation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, or National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md.

Capt Marc Giammatteo talks with Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson.

In less than two years, Steak Night at Fran O’Brien’s has become a cultural landmark for veterans of the war on terror.

The weekly dinner is the brainchild of Fran O’Brien’s co-owner Hal Koster and his friend and fellow Vietnam veteran Jim Mayer, who used to come to happy hour at the restaurant after his workday at the nearby Department of Veterans Affairs.