By Brian Livingston
blivingston@themeridianstar.com
When 91-year old David Jackson was a young man serving with the 84th Infantry Division, his Christmas in 1944 was spent bouncing around in the back of a terribly cold truck heading toward the Ardennes Forest where fighting had erupted during the German offensive that is known as the Battle of the Bulge.
Recently at Aldersgate Retirement Community in Meridian, Jackson, an Aldersgate resident, watched dozens of young sailors and marines as they filed into the banquet area of the facility to sit down with employees for a home-cooked Christmas dinner. It was a scene much different from 65 years ago.
Lawona Broadfoot, director of Aldersgate, said employees decided to expand their traditional Christmas dinner to include service members who would not be able to go home during the holiday season. So they contacted NAS Meridian and invited those members to Aldersgate to share in a wholesome dinner.
"The staff raised money and we had community and business donations locally that has really made this possible," said Broadfoot. "We wanted these service members to feel like they were at home."
Broadfoot said the event was part of the "Take Time to Save Time" program at the living center. The Employee/Servicemember Dinner will hopefully become an annual event to honor various service member units in the area.
Elaine Isbell, who is the marketing director for the facility and has a nephew who is serving his country now, said once the decision was made to invite service members, the event became suddenly personal.
"I became real excited we were going to do this," she said.
Approximately 45 sailors and Marine Corps personnel attended the event. These individuals were barely out of high school and some looked as it they have yet to shave on a daily basis. U.S. Navy Petty Officer First Class David Zepeda said the vast majority of personnel attending the dinner have not been out of boot camp but for a very short while and that NAS Meridian was their first service post. But he said this was a great opportunity for them to be introduced to the community in which they will be serving.
"This is a great way for them to get off base and meet people," Zepeda said. "It is important they get familiar with the community they will be serving in."
The traditional Christmas dinner of turkey and dressing with all the fixings is what sealed the deal with the young sailors and marines. The warmth of the banquet room, the smells coming from the kitchen and the home style feeling of the room brought back a great many memories for the young men and women.
"This is a great break from the base," said Jon Stiverson, an 18-year-old sailor, from Round Lake, Illinois. "The food is great. So much of what they have done here reminds me of home."
Shiwei Sun, 19, of San Francisco, California, said she has also been in the Navy just a short while and said she was impressed with Meridian, its people and Aldersgate.
"I'm away from home for the first time," she said. "But this brings home closer."
