Each year we here at Guns.com salute America's Servicemembers, who often are away from home on Thanksgiving, and remember their sacrifices over the years. 

President George Washington proclaimed the first nationwide Thanksgiving celebration in 1789. The event has a special place in the hearts of those in uniform missing their families and such celebrations have been extensively chronicled over the years. 

As we gather around our own tables this Thanksgiving, we are thankful for those who have served and are serving. 

USS Charleston (Cruiser # 2) Men running an obstacle race, during Thanksgiving Day celebrations on board Charleston at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 1893. (Photo: Naval History and Heritage Command) 
American Soldier in American Military Hospital no. 1, Neuilly France, enjoying his Thanksgiving Dinner given by the American Red Cross, 1918 (Photo: National Archives)
USS North Dakota (BB-29) sailors climb an obstacle on board ship during Thanksgiving Day 1919 festivities. (Photo: Naval History and Heritage Command) 
"1942: Thanksgiving Cake-Lt. Colonel W.W. Stickney, the commanding officer, cuts a Thanksgiving cake with a Japanese officer's sword at Guadalcanal, as hungry Leathernecks look on." (Photo: Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections)
Thanksgiving picnic and dinner at Submarine Net-Tending Base, Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, 1942 (Photo: Naval History and Heritage Command) 
The crew of USS Curtiss (AV-4) celebrating Thanksgiving picnic and dinner at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, 1942.(Photo: Naval History and Heritage Command) 
Thanksgiving Day dinner at Company B Mess Hall, 1944. Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, Newport News Virginia. (Photo: National Archives)
Thanksgiving turkey is prepared for members of the 5th Marines near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, 1950  (Photo: National Archives)
Korea: Issuing Winter Gear, Thanksgiving, 1951 (Photo: Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections)
A view of the Thanksgiving dinner served to U.S. troops taking part in Exercise Bright Star '82, 11/1/1981  (Photo: National Archives)
Navy and Marine personnel aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Guadalcanal (LPH 7) participate in a swim call off the coast of Honduras on Thanksgiving Day, 1983. (Photo: National Archives)
Marines eat a Thanksgiving dinner aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), 1984 (Photo: National Archives)
The Arabian Sea. An air controlman eats his Thanksgiving dinner while keeping an eye on the radar scope in the helicopter direction center aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Okinawa (LPH 3), 1987 (Photo: National Archives)
Marines sit in the sand to eat their Thanksgiving Day dinners in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield, 1990 (Photo: National Archives)
On the ramp, Senior Airman Derek Turnipseed, USAF, (left), and Senior Airman  Garth Horton, USAF, 437th Aircraft Generation Squadron, Charleston AFB, South Carolina, throw around a football on Thanksgiving morning, while waiting to launch another aircraft during Operation Enduring Freedom, at Naval Air Station, Sigonella, Sicily, 2001  (Photo: National Archives)
Members of the 30th Brigade Combat Team, North Carolina Army National Guard, enjoy their Thanksgiving Dinner at Forward Operating Base Cobra, Iraq, on Nov. 25, 2004  (Photo: National Archives)
Company commanders and the company 1st Sergeants serve food to the Soldiers of the 300th Sustainment Brigade at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait on November 22, 2018. (U.S. Army Reserve Photo)
U.S. Army soldiers unload food for Thanksgiving at an undisclosed location in Southeastern Afghanistan, Nov. 28, 2019. The food was transported by helicopter to soldiers in a remote location that has no facilities for cooking. (Photo U.S. Army)

Banner image: Lance Corporal Walter R. Billetdeoux takes a healthy bite from a turkey leg on Thanksgiving Day in Vietnam Da Nang L Company, 3d Battalion, 9th Marines. (Photo: Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections)
 

Read More On:
revolver barrel loading graphic

Loading