On a holiday when families and friends nationwide gather at bountiful feasts, a group of young flight school students stationed at Naval Air Station Meridian partook in a Thanksgiving meal hosted by the Fleet Reserve Association and the VFW Post 12124.

The meal, which was served at the Fleet Homeport club near the station, provided the students an opportunity to take an informal break from their studies, hang out, play pool and enjoy some home-cooked, all-you-can-eat Thanksgiving chow.

Of course, the Southern hospitality included traditional fare like turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, desserts and more.

“Being here and not being home at Thanksgiving, it’s the first time that I haven’t been home, so it’s a new experience,” said nineteen-year-old Marine Private Caba, who hails from Newark, New Jersey.

“But I know that I’m doing something good with my life, so my parents understand that I can’t be with them all the time. It’s alright, since I’ve met new people; so, it’s kind of like a new family now.”

As for being served a delicious meal by military veterans and the VFW, coupled with the opportunity to just enjoy being able to socialize as young people, Caba was thankful.

“It just a time to be together,” he said. “We’re working all the time, and here we get to be civilians and have fun and be with other people who work the same job.”

Marine Private Vu, also 19 and studying the IMRL Asset Managers System, agreed that being able to have some rest and relaxation was a welcome balance to working hard, especially during the Thanksgiving holiday.

“They know we’re still in our teens, we’re still young adults. We’re trying to study our jobs, but at the same time it’s also fun to enjoy yourself with your friends,” said Private Vu, who hails from Dallas, Texas. “It’s also great because you have all your brothers and sisters here with you. So, it’s been a great experience.”

Marine PFC Prifti, 27, from Boston, was another student who appreciated the event since she can’t travel home.

The camaraderie among her fellow servicewomen and men was as much an ingredient of the celebration as, if not more than, the bountiful feast, she said.

“It helps us see how the Marines become a family,” she said. “I’m glad that I’m able to spend Thanksgiving with Marines if I’m not able to spend it at home with my family. It makes you feel like you’re a part of something.”

The event was the Fleet Reserve Association’s sixth annual Thanksgiving meal; for the last three years, it was held in conjunction with VFW Post 12124, in addition to volunteers and Armed Forces veterans from the local branch of the American Red Cross.

The FRA – which encompasses the Navy, Coast Guard and Marines – has fed an average of 100 students yearly; last year, it served 125. It also contributes to many area food banks.

“Everybody here wanted to do it, then it kind of fell down, so I ended up doing it,” said organizer Richard Nelson, whose 22-year Navy career included two tours in Vietnam. “And I asked the VFW 12124 to help out because I didn’t have enough people to do this.”

It’s wasn’t just the students who were blessed by the heartfelt efforts of the FRA and the VFW, though. Jason Bornfleth, a Master Sergeant in the Marine Corps, is thankful for the morale boost the annual meal gives to his charges.

“As a senior enlisted advisor for the schoolhouse, it’s important for me and all my other instructors to mentor these young students and to allow them a little bit of freedom before they hit the big, big fleet, where they put all the aviation parts together, and it’s really hustle-and-bustle,” said Bornfleth.

“Some of [the students] can’t go home because they don’t have enough leave days. Or some of them just want to stay here that just got here,” he added. “[It] makes my staff and myself very happy to see them enjoying themselves and having a good Thanksgiving dinner.”