Editor’s note: This article was originally published in November 2019.
In an ideal world, Thanksgiving is spent at the dining room table, surrounded by beloved family, close friends, and good food. For U.S. service members,
it’s occasionally spent in the shit.
Luckily, U.S. troops are a resourceful bunch, and plenty of service members who have spent time downrange during the holidays have come away
with at least some fond memories — as well as some less-than-ideal tales of dodging mortar rounds on base when they should have been dodging political conversation at the dinner table.
To that end, we asked Task & Purpose readers to share their best stories from celebrating Thanksgiving while deployed — and they came back with the good, the bad, and the ugly of their time downrange.
Here are the stories of mortars, meat, and merriment from T&P readers who spent the holidays downrange. Feel free to share yours in the comments below!
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