James Owens, a Marine Corps veteran and one of Vagabond Brewing’s first employees, drinks a can of Haze Yourself, the brewery’s Veterans Day release. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)
At Vagabond Brewing, Nov. 10 is the most important day of the year.
That is the day before Veterans Day, but for Salem brewery owners Alvin Klausen, Dean Howes and James Cardwell, it’s the birthday of the smallest and best branch of the military — the U.S. Marine Corps.
“This is the best day of the year for us, hands down,” Klausen said.
The trio of Marines served nine combat tours between them, mostly in Iraq. When they got out, they were 23 and had spent their adult lives in a job where everything, from the length of their hair to the food they ate, was rigidly structured.
It was an abrupt transition.
“Literally they say, ‘have a nice life’,” Howes said.
While there are programs and services to help veterans return to civilian life, the camaraderie of the Corps is hard to replicate. But the friends decided they would try.
“Everyone can tell you they’d rather have some place safe to drink a beer with a vet than all the VA health care in the world,” Howes said.
Their annual birthday party incorporates the best Corps traditions: historic uniform displays, firearm raffles and of course, plenty of beer.
“Marines drink a lot,” Klausen said.
The Facebook page for Saturday’s event includes some prospective attendees asking whether corpsmen — the Navy medics who also serve Marines — would be on hand with IV bags to hydrate people.
It’s not just for fun. Last year’s party raised about $5,000 for Honoring Heroes, a Salem nonprofit that pays for medical care and other services for veterans, and Home for Heroes, Salem’s veteran homeless shelter.
It’s tradition at Marine birthdays around the world to have the oldest Marine present the first slice of cake to the youngest Marine. The oldest is usually a World War II veteran, and the pair always end up talking, Howes said.
“We just create the space and the rest of that happens,” he said.
For the three co-owners, it’s also a chance to remember the way military service has brought them to this point.
Vagabond Brewing’s Haze Yourself New England IPA is released annually on Veterans Day weekend, with cans for sale at the brewery. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)
Klausen and Cardwell grew up together in Salem and were friends before enlisting. Klausen signed up at 16, right after the Sept. 11 attacks.
“At 16, global politics isn’t really what you think about a lot,” he said. While in Iraq, he read the Qur’an and books on military history and conflict.
As protests of the war mounted and it became clear that the intelligence cited by government officials justify the Iraq invasion was flawed, he decided he didn’t agree with the war itself. But he views his duty as service to democracy, carrying out the will of the American people.
Howes is from California’s East Bay and met Klausen when they shipped out together to train for their roles in military intelligence. They sat together on the plane and hit it off.
“I was like, ‘I don’t like any of these guys, they should put us in the same room,’” Howes said.
After they were discharged, they traveled.
They bought a van with the goal of driving from Salem to Argentina, but were waylaid when they got a flat tire in the middle of rural Nicaragua. (They’d previously sold off the spare to pay a bribe to a border guard in Honduras.) With a combination of hitchhiking and bus tickets, they made it to Argentina.
“I think I came home with like ten bucks to my name in my pocket,” Howes said.
College was next on the list. Cardwell, the head brewer, studied fermentation science at Oregon State University. Howes focused on business. And Klausen went for a political science degree at the University of Oregon.
While in college, they started homebrewing and operated what Howes called an “illicit speakeasy” at an undisclosed location in Salem. Beer was free since they couldn’t legally sell it, but their tip jar overflowed most nights.
They’d talked about starting a brewery for year, and decided to do in 2013. Klausen, who had just graduated, figured it was as good a job as any he might get with a political science degree.
Vagabond opened its doors in early 2014, and has since expanded to Albany, with a new Portland location planned for next year. On a typical night, it’s busy with Timbers fans, couples and the occasional dog. But there’s a dedicated community of regulars who are veterans, including many Marines.
“Working for this company is like you’re one family,” said James Owens, a Marine who’s been working for Vagabond for more than four years.
Thomas Wasson has been with the Vagabond crew since their speakeasy days. He was a corpsman, enlisted in the Navy, but cared for Marines as a medic. Though he lives in Lincoln City, he was at Vagabond Thursday night “pre-prefuncing for the Marine Corps ball,” he said.
This year’s birthday will be followed by a Veterans Day celebration, raising more funds for Home for Heroes. They haven’t held back-to-back events in the past in part because it’s hard on the owners, who are usually still recovering from Saturday night.
“It’s worse for Marines because it’s two days of debauchery,” Wasson said.
But this year, they decided they’d grown enough to give it a go. Klausen said they hope to extend the feeling of community at Vagabond to all veterans in the Salem area, not just Marines.
“When you’re here, you’re a family,” Klausen said.
If you go
Vagabond Brewing: 2195 Hyacinth St. NE, (503) 512-9007
Marine Corps birthday – Saturday, Nov. 10. Starts at 5 p.m., with dinner at 6 and events at 7. Advance tickets required for dinner only.
Veterans Day celebration – Sunday, Nov. 11, 12 p.m.-6 p.m.
