HAMMOND | The U.S. Navy recruits couldn't make it home for Christmas Day celebrations, so volunteers from the First Baptist Church of Hammond brought them to a holiday celebration a little closer to their base.
Nearly 490 recruits got off buses to excitedly enter the City Baptist Schools building to enjoy their leave away from Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago. They were greeted with handshakes and well wishes from more than 60 volunteers, including one girl who made sure to give all the recruits more than twice her size a hug as they filed in.
Richard Talbot, 21, said he was glad to have his fellow recruits around him this time of year, since he has adopted them as his military family.
"It means everything," said Talbot, a Detroit native. "We're not with our immediate families and I consider these guys my extended family. It's a privilege to spend this time with them."
Talbot said he was looking forward to eating some pumpkin pie.
"Anything (away from) the galley is fine. I'm looking forward to home-cooked food," he added.
Pans filled with turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole spanned one side of the cafeteria while Dutch apple pie, brownies and other desserts extended the length of the other.
Assistant Pastor Brian Cassada, a former Air Force captain, said the blessing and encouraged the recruits to dig in just before 12:45 p.m.
"You're not on government property, so anyone walking in a straight line is getting slapped," Cassada said jokingly.
Cassada said the church collected about $6,000 in donations for the activities and food. He and his wife, Kathy, have run the dinner for six years and this year was the largest crowd served. Last year, there were fewer than 200 recruits at the dinner. Despite the down economy, Cassada said he was glad to have a supportive congregation to help the cause.
Cassada also said the excitement of the recruits runs beyond just being away from the base. He said it's great to have the opportunity to share some holiday joy.
"It's amazing, you go six to eight hours with these guys and their hearts are knit to you," Cassada said. "Their guards are down and they know it's Christmas and they don't have anyone to give this emotion to."
Melvin Rogers and Jazzmon Hughes, both of Gary, sat next to each other while eating and were excited about not having to walk on the right side in the building and actually being able to talk at the table. Rogers, 20, found out three days ago that he wasn't going to be able to visit his family over Christmas and was glad he still had the chance to celebrate the holiday. Hughes, 26, said it was nice to break away from being in a "military state of mind" for a while.
"It's nice seeing that the world didn't forget about you," Hughes said.
Beyond the food served, the church opened up the gym for basketball and dodgeball and set up Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 game systems so the recruits could play video games such as "Super Smash Bros. Brawl."
Detroit native Jadaniel Washington decided to shoot hoops in the gym after eating. Even though the recruits would be headed back to the base in the evening, Washington, 19, said he was glad to be somewhere less restrictive even for a few hours.
Hyles-Anderson College student Grant Sulls was proud to volunteer for the event this year after participating in 2007. Sulls, a 19-year-old sophomore, comes from a military family with his grandfather and great-uncle serving in World War II, and he finds it easy to return the favor of service to the recruits.
"If I was a sailor or in the military, I would appreciate it if someone did this for me," Sulls said.
Adam Heyne, 21, was happy to be able to talk to his girlfriend, Sherry, back home in the Cincinnati area on the phones provided. Heyne said he was enjoying himself and was excited to have the opportunity to interact with people outside of boot camp.
"This will be a Christmas I'll remember," Heyne said.
