NORFOLK, Va. — For the sailors aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, Thanksgiving dinner will be one of the last big meals before deployment.
“It’s good to get together if you don’t have anybody in the local area to meet up with,” said Culinary Specialist Third Class Zachary Lynch. “You can meet up with shipmates, friends, you can bring your family on board.”
With more than 500 sailors and civilians planning to eat aboard the Ike Thursday, about 40 sailors have spent the last week preparing the food. However, cooking for hundreds of people come with its unique challenges.
It includes 30 turkeys, 400 pounds of potatoes, 200 pounds of roast beef, and more loaves of bread than sailors can count.
“Not burning food, making sure everything looks nice,” said Lynch. “The food is obviously going to get done, but it gets done a little earlier.”
For Culinary Specialist First Class Bianca Parker, it’s her last Thanksgiving meal aboard the Ike before moving to her next command. She said it’s bittersweet, but this meal represents family for some of the sailors who don’t get to go home for the holidays.
“It’s important for us to make sure we provide them with a great Thanksgiving meal to boost morale, for one. Two, to make sure that they know that we have their back when it’s important to them,” said Parker.
Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier say this meal represents unity, coming together and enjoying a good meal.