Arlington Heights, Post 208 Hosts Great Lakes Sailors On Thanksgiving

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — The Village of Arlington Heights and American Legion Post 208 had established a Thanksgiving tradition of serving dinner to sailors from the Great Lakes Naval Training Center.

But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual holiday meal was canceled for the past two years as cases of the virus and ongoing health restrictions kept the meals from being served. But 50 service men training at the nearby Naval training center will again be welcomed to the Legion Post on Thursday, officials recently announced.

Organizers said that in most cases, the sailors are eight weeks into their 10 weeks of basic training. This means that they have not had contact with the outside world for two months, meaning limited exposure to phones, the internet, computers and other aspects of life others take for granted.

The sailors cannot go home for the Thanksgiving holiday, which led Post 208 and other organizations from around the greater Chicago area to provide these sailors a holiday feeling of home when they can’t be at the homes they grew up in.

The sailors will receive a full Thanksgiving dinner; free phones to call home all, desserts, entertainment video games, and TV all while surrounded by people to make them feel at home.

The Thursday festivities are made possible by volunteers from Post 208 and the community, organizers said.

Organizers said the sailors are scheduled to arrive at the Post between 9 and 9:30 a.m. Post 208 is located at 121 N. Douglas Ave. in Arlington Heights and local residents are welcome to greet the sailors as they arrive.