Thousands of turkeys flown to US troops stationed overseas, U.S. troops in Afghanistan enjoyed feasts of turkey and stuffing Thursday on what will be the last Thanksgiving in the combat zone for many service members, while Americans at home reveled in the holiday at New York’s Macy’s parade.
Thousands of turkeys were flown by the U.S military to service members in Afghanistan as well as Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan and West Africa, where some 2,132 troops American troops are stationed as part of the fight against Ebola, according to the U.S. Army website.
The Defense Logistics Agency, known as DLA, reports that 2,000 pounds of turkey, 300 pounds of cranberry sauce, and 500 pies were shipped to Liberia.
"Since they can't be home for the holidays, our team is dedicated to bringing the holidays to them," Anthony Amendolia, with DLA Troop Support subsistence team in Philadelphia, Pa., said of troops serving abroad. As many as 24,000 U.S. service members are currently in Afghanistan.
"Whether they're stationed on a remote base in Afghanistan, or a field hospital in West Africa, they'll be eating a traditional American Thanksgiving meal," Amendolia said.
Americans at home celebrated the holiday at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, while millions watched the enormous balloons, floats and marching bands from their televisions. Thursday's spectacle featured six new giant balloons, including Thomas the Tank Engine, Paddington bear and the Red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger.
Shortly before the parade began, authorities arrested 6 people for allegedly planning to disrupt the festivities in retaliation to the Ferguson case. The group allegedly threw an object from a building near the parade route in protest over a grand jury’s decision not to indict a white police officer in the August shooting death of an 18-year-old black man in Ferguson.
A major snowstorm, meanwhile, pummeled parts of the Northeast a day earlier, causing mass travel delays and power outages in some regions, like New England, where more than 200,000 customers were without power in New Hampshire and more than 100,000 were without electricity in Maine.
