Posted on 11/24/2006 10:31:18 PM PST by JoyjoyfromNJ
On Thanksgiving, I had the great privilege to be part of a large group of South Jersey folks who greeted and cheered for approximately 300 Army National Guard soldiers from Michigan and Missouri who were treated to their Thanksgiving meal at a catering facility in Clementon, NJ. These soldiers are undergoing training at Fort Dix, NJ, prior to their deployment "elsewhere" overseas. For the third year, a Camden County attorney, Eric Spevak, and members of Jewish War Veterans Post 126 of Cherry Hill, NJ, raised funds and arranged this Thanksgiving feast for National Guard troops undergoing such training at Ft. Dix.
Although I wasn't one of the privileged "catering crew" inside, the local paper, The Courier Post, reported that the the men were entertained by Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Jon Runyan and a former Eagle, Gary Cobb and some soldiers received autographed mementos. A former Miss New Jersey and a former Mrs. Jersey were also in attendance.
I was part of the outside "greeting gauntlet" that each soldier passed through after exiting their bus. The "Gauntlet" was about 250 strong, including children, WWII vets, VietNam Vets, members of motorcycle riding clues and "simple civilians" like me. We all had flags, which waved in the strong, chilly breeze, and many had "we support the troops" banners. Forming 2 groups on either side of the pathway we cheered as each of 7 busloads of soldiers passed by. We were quite vocal welcoming these heroes: Chants of "USA" resounded, as well as "Happy Thanksgiving", "Thanks for your service", "God bless you". Pats on their backs and handshakes also were extended as they moved down the pathway.
Since the soldiers had been told only about the meal, not about the support rally, they were surprised to say the least. Most were grinning and giving the children "High 5's". Some were shaking hands with both their hands so they wouldn't miss anyone. And my most precious memory: Realizing, after he'd passed me, that one soldier had tears falling down his cheeks.
More info can be found at the local paper's website, including some pictures. (I couldn't post this as an extract of their article as the system said there was a copyright complaint.} I'm sorry but I was up early for Black Friday so I'm too tired to remember the html to post this as a clickable link: http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061124/NEWS01/611240366
I should have thought to post the rally info so Philly/South Jersey folks (heck, even North Jersey folks) could come. I'll try to do that next year, Lord willing.
Good job.
Thanks for the html assist. I don't do html except here and I couldn't find my "cheat sheet" from Freeper bootcamp.
If you don't want to do anything fancy, just put the url in the post, BUT then you can NOT use ANY html or it won't be "clickable".
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