For two months, Jill Watson worked non-stop to organize a huge Thanksgiving Day meal – not for family, but for a few hundred Marines from the 5th Marine Regiment at Camp Pendleton who couldn’t be home with their families for the holiday.
Watson, the support and outreach coordinator from the Dana Point 5th Marine Regiment Support Group, started by securing some swag for the Marines like surf-, beer- and spirit-logo T-shirts from local restaurant owner John Collins, who has connections to the beverage suppliers. Then she headed to Costco and shopped for TVs, gaming monitors, a gaming chair, massage guns and whey protein powder.
And she ordered at least 200 Amazon gift cards.
Those were just side items to a glorious and festive Thanksgiving meal held Wednesday, Nov. 22, in a gym at the north end of the base. Decorated tables lined the floor, covered with platters of turkey, bowls of smashed potatoes, platters heaped with green beans, containers piled high with stuffing, giant vats of cranberry sauce and dozens of pies made by a branch of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
“I think about what I want it to look like,” said Watson, who for several decades worked as an event organizer and now plans the support group’s events. “All you have to do is show up with food and gifts, and they’re in heaven.”
The Thanksgiving extravaganza is one that the support group has put on for 16 years now. It started with hosting Marines in the homes of group’s members, then grew larger and was held at several Dana Point restaurants. Wednesday was the second year it was held on base and now the holiday event is focused exclusively on single Marines and some of their leaders. Many of the young Marines just graduated high school this year and haven’t had home-cooked meals in months.
“They often don’t have families nearby and many live far away and can’t get home,” said Terry Rifkin, the support group’s board president, She was among the original…
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