What is the most memorable thanksgiving that you spent while in the military?

I was in Basic Training in Texas for Thanksgiving and Christmas! But my family waited for me to get home January 3rd to celebrate the holidays

I was stationed on board LST1184 in 85 with my first wife and 2 kids. We invited several shipmates over 4 dinner. When asked what we were thankful 4 some of the guys commented they had never been invited into a white man's house 4 dinner and a few stated they had never been invited into an americans' home. Everyone ate 2 much, napped, watched football and ate some more. As the day ended there was no doubt n anyone's mind that we had a good 1and they were welcome back anytime. All the guys were very grateful as were my family and I.

Thanksgiving dinner 1965 was the first meal i had in Viet Nam! We (661st ordnance company (AMMO) had arrived off shore on a troop ship (USNS Geiger) at Qui Nhon that day and had been brought ashore by an LCM ( Landing craft medium) and then were taken by truck to An Khe! Camp Radcliff was under construction by the 1st Cavalry division! We were assigned a location and began to set up our company area! Since we did not yet have a mess hall set up, Were served turkey and trimmings by a neighbor unit! This is the Thanksgiving I will always remember!

In 1955 I was on Operation Sagebrush in Louisana on Thanksgiving, it was raining and we were served from a mess tent. There was a old barn near, we sat in a feed trough to stay out of the rain and ate our Thanksgiving dinner.

I had turkey in turkey on thanksgiving day 1946.

My most forgettable was Thanksgiving 1960, Army basic training at Ft Leonard Wood, Mo. My 1st Thanksgiving away from home and I had KP, back sink (pots and pans). My 3 years of active duty got better from there and I wouldn’t trade my military time for anything. Helped this young man grow up in the real world. Loved my 18 months on a Hercules site in Germany - Not so much the 9 day ride over and back on a troop ship. Happy Thanksgiving Vets.

I was stationed in Saigon from Jan 1969 -Feb 1970, with the 50th OSI HQ. Our office and our quarters were both in the center of Saigon. About 1 month after arriving, I convinced the 7 other guys I was living with in a villa compound that I was a better cook then the two Vietnamese mammasans that’s did our cooking and cleaning. Within a month of my doing the cooking, the other guys agreed that my cooking was better and also informed me that because I did the cooking, I would not have to contribute to the buying of groceries. When Thanksgiving rolled around, I made a complete Turkey dinner with all the trimmings, including apple pie. The entire group was flabbergasted that they were able to have a home cooked Thanksgiving meal. Several of them even proposed marriage. Lol. Of course I had to turn them down because I was already married.

November 22, 1968, I arrived at Fort Dix, New Jersey, awaiting deployment to Vietnam. It was a Friday afternoon six days before Thanksgiving. On Sunday afternoon my parents and family came to visit me, one last time before deployment at the Fort. Posters were placed all over the fort, “Fort Dix would be cooking 10,000 turkeys for all the troops at the fort and their family and friends are all invited”. So I asked my family if they would be willing to make another trip from Connecticut to Fort Dix N.J. to spend Thanksgiving with me. Surely I thought, they would never ship us out before Thanksgiving. It was only four days away. My family said, “absolutely, they would not miss it for the world”. So, I give my dad a slap on the shoulder, and I gave my mom a peck on the cheek and my only sister said, “I’ll see you Thursday”. . Well to our surprise I was on a plane Wednesday afternoon heading to Vietnam, never having the opportunity to say goodbye to my family. Between the long distance to get there, and the different time zones, we arrived the day after Thanksgiving, Friday! Every G.I. On that flight including myself, never did have a Thanksgiving that year.

The most memorable Thanksgivings I had always had a slight smell of diesel fuel and a fine coating of dust. In Iraq near the Syrian border we were to to prep for 3 days of unsupported mission watching the border. 3 days turned into almost 40. Our Chaplain came out in rotary with a few cooks and our Troop Commander. Great surprise, and of course had that slight smell of diesel fuel and a fine coating of dust in each bite! Wouldn't trade that day for any other

My first Thanksgiving away from home in 1961 at Fort Polk, Louisiana, with the 49th Armored Division. We had been mobilized due to the Berlin Crisis and really thought that this might be the last one in the US for us as we believed we were close to war with Russia. It was so long ago that I can’t remember what we had though pretty sure it was Turkey with the trimmings.