Active Duty Service members have a special Thanksgiving Dinner – CBS Baltimore
FORT MEADE, Md. (WJZ) – Hundreds of active duty members at Thanksgiving dinner because many can’t get home to be with their families.
The commanding staff at Fort Meade wanted to make sure these men and women had a traditional turkey and ham dinner with all the side dishes but the Food Service Officer Contracting Manager, Melba Taylor, said they wanted to create a few surprises.
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“We have steak, we have lobster tails, we have shrimp and we have all kinds of desserts. A; pretty much any dessert you can imagine,” Taylor said.
After 19 years serving this meal to men and women in uniform, Taylor said she wouldn’t miss the opportunity.
“It is just an honor to serve the people who serve us,” Taylor said. “These young people are my son’s age and to see the joy on their faces and give them hope, it makes them a little bit happier.”
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Kourtney Nunnery, a First Class in the Army, is away from his family in Fayetteville to train. “I really appreciate that they came and made us delicious food,” said the nunnery. She takes a day off from her duties and hopes to hang out with friends who have become more like family. “
I heard the bowling alley is open so I can go bowling but other than that I’ll just relax as it’s been a stressful couple of weeks,” Nunnery added.
Derick Fennell is also Private First Class in the Army. “This is the first time I’ve been away from family for Thanksgiving,” he said. “They did all the traditional food my mom would make and I would tell her when I FaceTime with her like ‘look they have cheesecake, they have macaroni, they’ve got it all.’
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Fennell said he also made friends with close family friends while he was away. “We don’t have a family but we are a family, so it’s a new tradition for them to laugh and giggle and watch movies and I think it’s going to be a nice change of pace, Fennell added. “With them bringing all of this together for Thanksgiving, I really appreciate that.”
