U.S. troops around the globe spent Thanksgiving with notable personalities such as Miss America and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton or perhaps enjoying traditional trappings such as football and a turkey feast.
Here’s a look at Thanksgiving abroad:
Kuwait: Wearing a white chef’s hat, Miss America Erika Dunlap served Thanksgiving dinner at a desert military base, hoping to bring a bit of home to U.S. troops stationed close to the Iraqi border.
Dunlap’s visit is the first overseas trip by a Miss America to see deployed American troops since the Vietnam War. After serving meals at the Udairi training camp, she ate with soldiers and sang the national anthem.
“She made a sacrifice by being away from her family, and that means a lot to soldiers who are away from their families, too,” said Pvt. Jimmy Jackson, 18, of Rockford, Ala..
Afghanistan: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., promised that America will stand with Afghanistan as it tries to rebuild after a quarter-century of conflict and warned Taliban rebels they “are fighting a losing battle.”
The former first lady, who was in Afghanistan with Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said the United States is determined to support Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Clinton and Reed, who once served as a U.S. Army paratrooper, sat down for a dinner of turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie with about 50 American soldiers at Bagram Air Base, just north of Kabul, the capital.
Bosnia-Herzegovina: Hundreds of U.S. peacekeepers in Bosnia celebrated Thanksgiving with an interfaith religious service and a traditional turkey meal.
Most of the 1,500 U.S. soldiers in Bosnia had the day off, and many gathered on an unseasonably warm, sunny morning for a service in the chapel at Eagle Base, near the northern town of Tuzla.
“For us soldiers, this day is eat, drink, watch football and be thankful for everything we have,” said Capt. Chuck Draxler, 25, a National Guardsman from Rosemont, Minn. “This is the first Thanksgiving I’ve been away, and it’s hard.”
Chaplains led troops in Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist and Christian prayers.
The Americans are part of a NATO-led force of 12,000 soldiers monitoring the Bosnian peace process.
Guantanamo Bay: Thousands of U.S. troops at the remote, bleak prison camp of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba celebrated Thanksgiving after 660 terror suspects got extra rations of baklava to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The prisoners are accused of links to Afghanistan’s fallen Taliban regime or the al-Qaida terror network.
Base commander Capt. Leslie McCoy piloted a Navy helicopter to deliver hot turkey to guards at observation posts on the fence line separating the U.S. base from communist Cuba.
About 450 turkeys also were shipped on a barge to the eastern Cuba base.
“It’s difficult to be deployed away from your family, home and loved ones on Thanksgiving, but we’re doing the business of the nation,” said Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, who commands the detention mission.
“We’ll do our very best to make the day special.”
Associated Press
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