It's not a stretch to say that Rollies Tavern in Lakewood is world-famous.

Throughout the tavern's 33-year history, airmen who've stopped in to have a drink or grab something to eat at one time or another usually also pick up a few stickers with the tavern's logo and location printed on it.

The stickers wind up in obscure places airmen routinely visit in faraway countries and deployed zones - bathroom stalls in other bars and restaurants or even bombs and missiles in the desert slated to be loaded onto aircraft headed for battle.

"It's crazy ... you'll meet airmen from other bases dying to visit Rollies because they've seen the name on the sticker," said a 49-year-old former McChord C-141 Starlifter flight engineer who frequents Rollies.

The tavern, located at the intersection of 112th St. S and Steele St., has been a part of the McChord landscape since it opened in 1976. Owner Rollie Moore, now 61, originally opened the bar thinking it would cater to college students at nearby Pacific Lutheran University. But that notion quickly changed as the NCO club on McChord closed and airmen returning from long flights overseas needed a place to grab breakfast at 7 a.m.

"The clock really didn't mean anything to those of us flying all around the world," said a friend of the tavern known as Rosy, another former C-141 flight engineer.

"Military travel is 24 hours a day. If you landed on a flight from Japan early in the morning, you wanted to have a beer because you were coming off of your shift. It didn't matter that it was 7 in the morning."

As the tavern grew in popularity, more and more airmen started bringing in trinkets and other objects they'd collected at locations around the world.

"It looked like a doctor's office and then the Air Force guys started putting stuff up," Moore said.

That's turned the tavern into a mini McChord museum. There are murals of McChord aircraft painted on the wall, framed pictures of re-enlistment ceremonies held at the tavern and the wings off many airmen's uniforms embossed in the bar and the many tables.

"Most of us are part of it because our wings are in the place," Rosy said.

Rollie also embraced his loyal Air Force customers, cashing paychecks for airmen when the Air Force still paid with paper checks and routinely buying the entire bar a drink when it was full of flight suits.

And while the McChord gate located down the street from Rollies has since closed, the once unfettered view of the flightline is now partially obscured by a junk yard and Moore's son, Rollie Jr. now plays a more active role in day-to-day operations, much inside the tavern has stayed the same. Airmen young and old still come in to grab a drink or some food and check out some artifacts identifying the rich history of McChord.

"The camaraderie in here is like no other place," the 49-year-old former flight engineer said. "Rollies is plugged into McChord. And they've always let airmen know that the community is behind them. This place is a landmark."