Marines have home away from home on Thanksgiving

WALLACE — If you can’t be home with family on Thanksgiving, a home-cooked meal is the next best thing. Forty-five Camp Lejeune Marines had a special holiday thanks to 18 generous families that hosted them.

Robert Steen helped provide Thanksgiving to the Marines. “Recognize the service of our service personnel and despite any other reasons, they need to be supported. So that’s our main goal, to bring to the forefront the value of these people,” he said.

Joshua Arnold, one of the Marines who enjoyed the feast, said “We are very grateful because they’re taking us into their homes, they’re spending their money to welcome us to entertain us and show their support to us and we’re all loving that.”

“The support makes me feel a lot, because sometimes there can be people that try to de-motivate the service and it feels good to have people behind us, especially when we got off the bus and everyone was clapping,” said Theresa Joseph.

If it weren’t for the families, the Marines would be alone in their barracks waiting to eat grub from the chow hall, and they all agreed their feast beat whatever they would eat in the chow hall.

They enjoyed Thursday’s nice weather by hitting golf balls and throwing the football. The only rules were to be comfortable, have fun, and know that this was their home away from home, at least for a day.