Dec 25, 2007 5:16 pm US/Central
Great Lakes Sailors Treated To Christmas Dinner
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Sailors at the Great Lakes Naval Base are ready to put their lives on the line in service for their country.
So one Chicago family feels the least it can do is give them a special holiday.
CBS 2's Joanie Lum reports on the celebration.
Fresh recruits got away from boot camp and dove into a gourmet traditional Christmas dinner at the Ravenswood Pub on Chicago's North Side.
They did what civilians do on a holiday, relax, watch television and call long distance. The telephones were donated.
"For a lot of them, this is the first time away from home, period, much less for Christmas. A lot of them are 18, 19 years old. It's their first time away and they're kind of missing family and everything," Ken Hancock, Ravenswood Pub owner, said.
Even though Ken and Leisa Hancock have children of their own, they spend every Christmas feeding and entertaining a hundred young sailors.
For security reasons, the recruits are not allowed to do interviews, but they did get talk to a real war veteran.
"They look like when I went in the service in 1940," World War II veteran Danny Wenserski said.
They asked him what he did in the war.
"I tell 'em I was a waist gunner and b-17 bomber," Wenserski said.
They commiserate with compassionate volunteers. A sailor disclosed a navy secret to Cheryl Smalling, telling her the coffee is horrible.
"I thought it would be the food, he wanted the Starbucks," volunteer Cheryl Smalling said.
The hosts say this is their chance to thank the naval recruits for their service.
"The young men and women that are here and dedicating their whole life, to protect my children and everybody else," Leisa Hancock, Ravenswood Pub owner, said.
The previous owner of the Ravenswood Pub started this tradition right after 9/11. The current owners were eager to continue the tradition, providing a home away from home, not just for a meal but the entire day.
Each sailor returned to base with the only gift they're allowed, a phone card, for future use.
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