The Statler Hotel opened its restaurant on Thanksgiving Day for the 6th year in a row to welcome military veterans, first responders, and health professionals, and their families for a free "Thanksgiving for Your Service" meal.
"We have a real passion for helping people that allow us to have Thanksgiving," Centurion American Development Group Vice President Sean Terry said. "They're the ones that are fighting for our freedoms, and what better way to give back than to offer them a free lunch today."
The Thanksgiving event is put on by Centurion American, which owns the Statler, and Operation Forever Free.
"I was on a Navy ship for two years," Marine Corps and Army Reserves veteran Byron Kennard said. "The C-rations, I remember them!"
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Kennard said this Thanksgiving feast was way better than anything he had to eat during his time in the services.
"I hope they feel like it's home to them," Terry said. "I hope they come in today and feel, hey, people do appreciate the sacrifices they made."
"Whey say somebody has to do it, but I actually did it because I enjoyed doing it," Army veteran and Federal Bureau of Prisons employee Vanessa Gee said.
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"What we did was, in most cases, what we thought was our duty and everything to defend our country," Kennard said.
The goal of the meal is to say "thank you for your service" while bringing people together.
"The thing of it is, Thanksgiving is a special holiday spent with family and friends, and possibly new friends," Kennard said.
"I know they're doing it for us, so it's a choice that we made to be here," Gee said. "Very grateful. Very thankful."
