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

So no crap there I was, Kabul, Afghanistan 2003.
Through a chain of unfortunate events, I was marooned in Kabul Thanksgiving week awaiting transportation. As an unattached Civil Affairs guy, I was tasked to secure turkeys for the big day. Not knowing my way around Kabul very well, I picked up a FA PFC as a driver and got ready to go.

Now, I had been in Afghanistan since July, and while I had laid eyes on chickens fairly often, I had yet to see a turkey. Sources told me they could be bought on (you guessed it) Chicken Street, because that is where turkeys are, of course. We were about to set out, when we were intercepted by an O-6 who had heard we were going out. He asked if he could tag along - not much a SSG and a PFC could do but say yes - and off we went.
Upon arriving in the market area of Chicken Street the Colonel orders us to stop. He gets out, and spends 90 minutes buying crap in a local store. Bootleg DVDs, electronics, random randomness...
Anyway, PFC guy and I are getting antsy. We are virtually inundated with kids, and keeping them out of our vehicle was getting difficult. We weren't exactly outfitted to deal with a threat, either. It was about as quiet a time to be in Afghanistan as there was, but stuff still happened. And we were standing there on the street. Guarding the truck. While Colonel guy is buying Afghan stuff. Not doing the mission. I was getting pretty salty.
Eventually, Colonel guy comes back with bags of stuff, wanting us to take him back to the compound.
"Negative, sir. We still have the mission to accomplish."
It took a while, but eventually we found an Afghan selling turkeys. Or at least the Afghan equivalent. Aside from being alive and having a few more feathers, they looked just like the rubber chickens that you can buy in a joke shop. I negotiated a price for twelve of them and started loading the cages. The Afghan guy stops me. "No. No." He says. "No cages, only birds".
Hmmm
So, I grab one and throw it in the back of the Blazer. Obediently, it stands there, looking around.
OK.
So, one by one, I throw the rest in the back. They actually kind of organized themselves into ranks. Just sort of standing there. Maybe this will work. Turkeys are stupid.
Then we drove away.
And those turkeys went ballistic!
Flying around, flapping, feathers everywhere...
It was all I could do to keep them away from the PFC as we made our way back to the compound. The Colonel in the back seat wasn't so lucky.

As we pulled into Gator Alley and the gate, the Colonel jumps out, face red with rage. He is covered in feathers and turkey guano. He tells us that he's "never going out shopping with us again!" Slams the door and storms off.
I can't lie, that was some funny $#!t.
Victory Secured.

I got called on the carpet half-heatedly by the CMCOORD Chief who lectured me for a while. I could tell his heart wasn't in it. Rumor had it that this was high comedy in Flag Country.

That was a lonely Thanksgiving, far from home.
But it came with a great story.
And the turkey was pretty tasty, for a rubber chicken.

1993 - MEC-P, Korea. Was relieved of my watch about 45 minutes after the chow hall was closed. Hoping to grab something, I entered anyway. The Marines on mess duty were cleaning up and already getting ready for tomorrow's meal. Not wanting to bother 'em, I turned back and started up the hill to our billeting. A young L/Cpl chased me down and asked that I return with him. Upon re-entering the chow hall, a Cpl approached me with a plate of food... and asked me to join his Marines for their Thanksgiving meal. Thankful... and humbled to be with family.

Iraq 2007, roasting three Turkeys bartered for off the locals when we saw them on patrol.
Small patrol base 35 k from the next nearest US outpost, we were alone and unafraid.... And having Fresh Turkey... I had two battalion cooks assigned to me, mostly water boilers for rations.. but they did what they could with what I could get in rations. The Sergeant, was adamant he "Would not allow" THAT food in HIS mess hall (a tent). I will not confirm or deny that said DFAC Sergeant was pointed to the gate and asked whose gate he came though to stand in the relative security of a few hundred T walls guarded by whose company? We came to an agreement, He did not have to participate in prep or cooking, but damn well would be serving them or back to Taji he went (they LOVED being at our patrol base)
Now to his credit, that young Sergeant saw the error in our ways, and prepped the Turkey rations that were flown in that day.. As the commander and I carved the first of three birds we have been feeding in a HESCO "cages" for several weeks.. we realized them damn skinny ass turkeys were not going to feed but a few folks each. So all got a taste of a Warrior Turkey... but the meal came from my DFAC Sergeant.
Thank you Sergeant.
PS no that is not me in the pic.

In afghanistan we had just started to grab our plates from the chow hall when we received incoming. Everyone went to there appointed locations to conduct counterfire. During the attacks there were two NCO's that was running back and forth from the defac grabbing plates for the sodliers that were in the bunkers, on the gunline and in the toc. They were determined that everyone would still get to enjoy a thanksgiving meal dispite the current events.

SGM Mike Barbieri, at BCT at Fort Jackson (Tank Hill), SC on 27NOV69. I was still stateside, of course, but it was my first Thanksgiving alone and away from my family. We were still served in the old company sized mess halls and many trainees had their families join them for the Thanksgiving meal, and that made me pretty blue. I got over it, though!

Memorable docent always mean good!
I was serving in Bien Hoa Vietnam 1972 it was my night for bunker guard, like always a jeep came out with our dinner for the evening, hoping for Turkey sandwich instead we got peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I was so pissed knowing my fellow solders had a great turkey meal in the mess hall.
I saved my sandwich and brought it to the commander the next morning and asked is this how you treat our fellow solders protecting the lines? after a short investigation it was learned the cooks gave the left-over turkeys to their girlfriends! for the next 3 days the guards got steak sandwiches.
I learned to always appreciate the troops who protect us as we enjoy our daily lives.

Fifty years ago on Thanksgiving Day I was part of a tank crew that spent the day on a cold and rainy beach close to Hoi An, Vietnam. We had two thirds of a case of c-rations, and Nguyen steadily sniping at us. We spent most of the day inside the tank. The remfs sent out a helicopter with thanksgiving dinner for us, but luke the gook kept him from landing. We were so po'd about that we fired off half of our 90mm "beehive" rounds in the general direction of the sniper. Don't know if we ever got him. It was the shittiest Thanksgiving I ever spent. I've never gotten over that day for the last fifty years. It's always a sucky holiday for me.

After being wounded in september 1966 on Mutters Ridge [hill 400] in vietnam i was evacted to the hospital ship USS REPOSE for 3 days then moved on 1 oct to Clark air force base hospital for my second surgury. on 1 nov i was sent to the 106TH General field hospital in yokohama japan for my 3rd . spending thanksgiving in a hospital ward with other wounded marines, soldiers and airman was a very rewarding experience for me and them. . they were and still are my family .

On November 22, 1975, while serving aboard the USS John F. Kennedy CV-67, we collided with the Guided Missile Cruiser USS Belknap CG-26, 60 miles off the coast of Sicily in the Ionian Sea. The Belknap's superstructure was sheared off in the accident and caused massive fires aboard both ships. I was a young man of 19, standing in the hanger bay of the Kennedy, listening to the screams of those in the water and seeing the flames caused by ruptured jet fuel tanks. When the order for "Abandon Ship" was given I thought it was coming from my ship because I had yet to know what had caused the scene unfolding before me. Eight sailors perished that fateful night, 7 on the Belknap and 1 on the Kennedy. Three days later we celebrated Thanksgiving Day. I don't remember if we had turkey that day, chances are we didn't as we were on a 10-month deployment, but it was the one Thanksgiving Day among many in my life that stands out as the one where I truly was the most thankful. Thankful for life, for duty and for family.

The best Thanksgiving dinner of my life at Monkey Mountain, outside of DaNang RVN.