There was a parade through the downtown area (See pictures from Jacksonville North Carolina Government Facebook page) but I didn't get to see it, since I was waiting in the park at the end of the parade to help serve hot dogs, chips and drinks to the Marines. The Marines had been up since early morning and after walking in the parade, they were hungry!
I was told two different numbers for how many Marines there were. There was at least 5,000 and possibly 7,500. I probably handed out 500 hot dogs wrapped in foil and almost the same number of bags of chips. Each and every Marine said, "Thank you Ma'am" or "Thanks so much Ma'am!" They really appreciated the food.
We started out with one hot dog, one bag of chips each, but there were so many hot dogs after everyone had been through that we started giving out multiple hot dogs. Some Marines were walking around with two or three wrapped hot dogs in their hands. I heard one with multiple hot dogs in hand say, "takin' this back to the barracks!" as he slid one into a pocket. The Jacksonville police officers that were there also had their fill of hot dogs and chips. I think the leftovers were going to be donated to a shelter or food bank.
The city had lots of activities going on at the park. Marines and citizens could play "corn hole" and dodge ball. There was a band playing on the outdoor stage. The USO Musical Troupe was going to perform also, but I didn't get to see that.
The USO held an open house after the parade where they displayed scrapbooks and pictures dating back to 1941 when they first opened. There were many Marines there enjoying a warm comfortable place to sit and visit with their friends.
It was a great experience and I hope to be involved in many more.
The USO of Jacksonville is the oldest continually operating USO in the world!
Marines and others playing dodge ball in the park. They take their games seriously.
2 comments:
So glad you had a good time!
What an wonderful thing for you to do. So glad you enjoyed it.
Post a Comment