[Chat] Greetings on Thanksgiving from the Palace - w/o picture

[william.schlegel at us.army.mil]

Greetings on Thanksgiving!

A friend sent me the message, below, about the first Thanksgiving, so I thought I would pass it along. The chaplain who spoke at our ecumenical service, this morning, also related the story - one always worth remembering.  I hope elementary school students still have Thanksgiving programs where they get to dress up in costume and reenact the event.  Squanto was always one of my favorite personages.  Also the use of fish as fertilizer, which gave rise to the abundant harvest that fall.  I remember fondly singing Thanksgiving hymns in our chorus (I started singing in a school chorus in the third grade).

Today was very special for me, even though it started out with someone stealing my flashlight.  At 9am I participated in Mass and sang with the choir, doing some traditional Thanksgiving hymns.  At 10am the same choir participated in the ecumenical service, where we sang America the Beautiful and On Eagles Wings.  We started America the Beautiful with a solo male voice and added additional voices as we processed up the aisle of the chapel.  The effect was quite stunning.  Even the commanding general of CJTF-7 (the main force here), LTG Sanchez was very impressed.  I am including a picture of the two of us for you to see, unless attachments are too big for your mailbox.  In addition to the choir, the 76th Army Band provided a trombone choir to accompany "We Gather Together" and "Now Thank We All Our God".

After church I rode with the chaplain in his HUMVEE to the dining facility (DFAC) for thanksgiving dinner.  What a feast to behold!  I cannot begin to describe all of the decorations, but here are a few: ice sculptures in the shape of turkeys and eagles with flowing mounds of fresh fruit and carved squashes.  Bouquets of flowers frozen in ice.  A cake in the shape of a Bible with a scripture written in the icing.  Unlimited boneless turkey, prime rib, greens with ham, string beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, two kinds of stuffing, fresh rolls, cranberry sauce, jumbo shrimp cocktail, egg nog, sparkling grape juice, all sorts of pies, ice cream, etc.  The managers of the DFAC hired a Philipino to do all of the design work and flew him up from Saudi Arabia two days ago to do all of the preparation.  I have not had a feast like this in a long time.  I hope your day was just as blessed.

Once again, I want to express my thanks to you, my friends,for all the kindnesses you have shown through your letters, prayers, and boxes.  Also for Dale Dusman, my pastor, who has helped me through lots of issues - including my mail and car.  For my sister, Beth, and my mother, Betty, who have always been there when I needed something sent in a hurry.  I am just thankful that I am in a secure place, well protected, warm, and finally with a hot shower again.

It is now almost official that I will be here until the end of March.  Technically, the Dept. of the Army must give final approval, but all indication point to that happening.  So, if any of you are inclined to send cards or care packages, my address is:

CW4 Schlegel, William                        
V CORPS Main, A Co/325th MI BN 
APO, AE 09342 

Item I can use are: Bags of Dunkin Donuts regular coffee or Starbucks Sumatra; #4 cone coffee filters; Nature Valley trail mix bars or granola bars; Garden Herb triskets; beef jerkey; macadamia nuts; cashews; or almonds.  

We are also collecting toys for a local orphanage - so let me know if you would like to send something for this community project.  I will send final details to you later.

Please keep in touch and I will see you on April.

Brad




> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Happy Thanksgiving!
> Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 13:25:49 -0500
> From: Carole Conors <conors at bcpl.net>
> To: william.schlegel at usarmy.mil
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Brad,  
> 
> I wish you a blessed Thanksgiving.  It may be my favorite American 
> holiday.  Each year my house is filled with people for a sit-down 
> dinner and often my children bring strangers, frequently from other 
> countries.  I am sure they know they have come to eat turkey but I imagine 
> they know nothing else.  I'm not even sure if those other than my 
> children (they have spouses and partners now) know what they are 
> celebrating.  And so, rather than a blessing as we generally know it before 
> eating commences, I tell the story.  Sometimes I have the story written 
> and the grandchildren read it to the group.
> 
> I tell them that in 1620, 98 people boarded a ship called the 
> Mayflower in England to meet up with others in Jamestown, VA.  They wanted a 
> place free to practice their religion and thought America would be that 
> place.  They all arrived safely but they arrived way off course, near the 
> tip of Cape Cod in Massachusetts.  Not realizing it, they looked for 
> those they were to meet.  It was cold, November.  They looked and looked 
> and after awhile, the captain of the Mayflower was not willing to wait 
> any longer.  And so they unloaded at a place we now call Plymouth.  
> The local Indians helped them in time.  One year later, November 1621, 
> one half of those 98 people had died, but those who remained gave 
> thanks to God and celebrated that 1/2 had lived.  Imagine the positive 
> attitude! They did not cry because 1/2 had died.  They gave thanks to God 
> and celebrated that 1/2 had lived.  It is this attitude which has 
> helped shape us as a people.  They celebrated with corn and wild turkey 
> and pumpkin and cranberries and clams and mussels and nuts and pears 
> and sweet potatoes and apples which we will do today, and they drank 
> beer, yes even the youngsters because "the water wasn't a fittin'.  It 
> makes the young uns toddle a bit."   For this heritage we hereby give 
> thanks to God.
> 
> During the last week, Senator Robert Byrd spoke on the floor of 
> the Senate and quoted how in 1623, the Pilgrims having celebrated for 
> 3 years heard from William Bradford, governor of Plymouth Colony who 
> was 33 at the time, that this was a good idea and that they should 
> celebrate this as a holiday every year.  Senator Byrd went on to read what 
> they ate for their celebration.