Thanksgiving at war

Soldiers have long found ways to savor a taste of the American holiday while serving overseas

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A U.S. soldier shows two turkeys to his enthusiastic comrades for Thanksgiving Day lunch in Italy.
Circa 1940
(Image credit: U.S. troops in Westminster Cathedral, London, during a Thanksgiving service.)

Nov. 27, 1942
(Image credit: Two American airmen wait on their young British guests during a Thanksgiving party, which U.S. troops threw for 200 children at the American headquarters in London.)

Nov. 23, 1944
(Image credit: Two U.S. soldiers have their Thanksgiving meal in the ruins of a German frontier town.)

Nov. 23, 1944
(Image credit: A U.S. soldier shows off two turkeys that will be prepared for Thanksgiving lunch in Italy.)

Nov. 25, 1983
(Image credit: Two U.S. soldiers enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at Point Salines, Grenada, where more than 1,000 pounds of turkey was served to the more than 2,000 troops stationed on the island.)

Nov. 23, 2000
(Image credit: U.S. soldiers serving in the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo cheer for TV cameras in the U.S. military base Camp Bondsteel in Eastern Kosovo.)

Nov. 28, 2002
(Image credit: U.S. Army soldiers run with their company during Thanksgiving events at Camp New York in the Kuwaiti desert.)

Nov. 25, 2004
(Image credit: U.S. troops ride a "gator" utility vehicle decorated to resemble a turkey during a parade before a traditional Thanksgiving meal at the Manas air base in Kyrgyzstan.)

Nov. 26, 2009
(Image credit: SPC John Dever of Chicago has Thanksgiving dinner while standing watch in a guard tower in Matakhan, Afghanistan.)

Nov. 26, 2009
(Image credit: Army soldiers eat their Thanksgiving meal at a combat outpost in Cherkatah, Afghanistan.)

Nov. 25, 2010
(Image credit: U.S. Army soldiers play touch football in the early morning hours on Thanksgiving at a military base in Zhari district, Afghanistan.)

Nov. 22, 2012
(Image credit: U.S. soldiers queue up for their Thanksgiving meal in Kabul, Afghanistan.)

Nov. 22, 2012
(Image credit: U.S. soldiers pray before eating a Thanksgiving meal at a dining hall at the U.S.-led coalition base in Kabul.)

Lauren Hansen
Lauren Hansen

Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.