So for Thanksgiving week, I decided to share the all important American tradition of Thanksgiving with our French friends. As such, a C-130J flew down from Ramstein for a static display of the USAF and the Officer’s Club cooked up a true feast. I and the other Americans set up and hosted the evening. Although it felt a little like a wedding, from my perspective everything turned out great. Here are a few photos from the event that were made by the base photographer.
Here’s an image of the social hour.
As a way to infuse the evening with as much Americana, we set up a video projector to show highlights of American football games.
Nate and Robin are friends and Americans who made the trip over (they live about an hour away, so it was nice they could make the trip). As you can see, their boys are apparently big fans of the sport.
The general talking with some visiting VIPs who also came to share the celebration with us.
A view of everyone sitting down.
The general and I gave the opening remarks.
I read a bit of President Obama’s Thanksgiving Proclamation. In French and English. Our French friends had no idea the president makes a proclamation for Thanksgiving every year. They seemed equally fascinated to learn a little about the history of the holiday. For example, it was started in it’s modern form by President Lincoln in 1863.
The general saying thanks. 🙂
Some of the highlights from the email (retouching done by the guys in the photolab). We had as much of a traditional meal as was possible. The food was ordered and cooked by the French Officer’s Club staff, but the recipes and drinks were American. So, it was Thanksgiving with a French twist.
One of the three whole turkeys we carved.
They were very popular. If you look closely, you can see Dustin (one of the USAFA cadets) and the head chef all serving the turkeys. In fact, all the USAFA cadets were a huge help setting up, clearing and cleaning up. The night would not have been a success without them. There were many other people who helped a ton as well (notably, Christine) and please know you have my gratitude. Thank you all! 🙂
Well, that covers it for Thanksgiving. Next up are images from a 2-week tour of France with the the foreign cadets and French cadre. It was a blast, but I’ll only subject you to a handful from Reims, Paris and Normandy.
Until then…
–Jim