Bringing the Taste of Home to Service Members and their Families Throughout the U.S. Southeast during Thanksgiving

Every year, our service members give us so much to be thankful for.

As we gathered with our families to celebrate Thanksgiving at home this past week, our service members are deployed around the world away from their families and loved ones, keeping us and our allies safe and free.

USO locations throughout the U.S. Southeast make it a point this time of the year to serve up festive treats to help service members and their families enjoy a bit of the season, and to let them know how grateful the American public and the USO are for their service and sacrifice, especially during the holiday season.

From serving up hot chocolate or providing USO Mobile programing to service members conducting training, to welcoming military families and single service members to enjoy a holiday meal, the USO is committed to bringing a little of home to them no matter where their service takes them.

Here’s a look at some of the festive holiday programming the USO provided to service members and their families throughout the U.S. Southeast this Thanksgiving:

USO North Carolina & USO Mobile Program

Junior Marines taking a break during initial infantry training at the School of Infantry – East at Camp Devil Dog, N.C., enjoyed holiday treats and the USO Mobile programing with gaming center supported by USO North Carolina volunteers. For many of these Marines this was their first holiday season away from home, but the USO was there to brighten up their day.

“It’s important for the USO to make sure that our service members know that we’re always there for them. We’re with them, throughout their entire career from beginning to end, we want to ensure that we’re always connecting service members to family, home, and country,” said Bob Brown, USO Mobile Operations and Programs Specialist.

The USO Mobile and USO North Carolina volunteers provided various snacks to these young Marines, to include USO Gaming and cornhole.

“This has been such a nice break from training. A time to enjoy ourselves with the people we have become friends and close with since boot camp,” said one of the junior Marines in training.

USO Mid-Atlantic

Soldiers stationed at For Eustis who couldn’t make it home for Thanksgiving enjoyed a night of games, friendship and freshly made sandwiches provided by USO partner WaWa, and other festive treats and snacks.

Just up the road at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., Marines, sailors and their families enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast, USO Gaming, and received special Thanksgiving goody bags to take back to their barracks rooms with prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.

USO Northwest Florida

Meanwhile service members and their families stationed Naval Air Station Pensacola, Corry Station and Tyndall Air Force Force, Fla., received Turkeys with all the trimmings graciously donated and handed out by USO partners Southern Groceries, parent company of Winn-Dixie, a week prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.

USO Fort Campbell

The day before Thanksgiving, USO Fort Campbell staff and volunteers hosted a special holiday meal with all the fixings for unaccompanied service members who needed a hot meal and warm conversation at the USO center at Fort Campbell, Nov. 22, 2023. Although most of these soldiers won’t be able to travel home for the holidays, USO Fort Campbell brought a little of home to them.

And on the day of Thanksgiving, USO Fort Campbell supported the homecoming of the 101st, 1st Battalion Combat Team who retuned from a six month-long deployment in Eastern Europe, making it home just in time for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving holiday events and special meals like these, that are happening on bases and at USO Centers around the world, are a way to show our appreciation for the military families that sacrifice so much, and to make sure that no matter where their service takes them, they can still take part in time-honored American traditions and holidays that we all hold dear.