Villa Park VFW synonymous with hospitality

The only enemies the Navy recruits at the VFW in Villa Park had to worry about Thursday were the ones in their video games.

VFW Post 2801 hosted 45 young sailors from the Great Lakes Naval Station for a daylong Thanksgiving celebration that included both food and entertainment.

The post was among the 18 VFWs, American Legions, churches and service groups feeding nearly 1,000 recruits who are hundreds of miles from home.

The recruits have been undergoing boot camp for the past two months and are set to graduate next week. Villa Park volunteers said they wanted to give the sailors a chance to relax and unwind.

At the VFW they played video games, watched football, used laptop computers and borrowed volunteers' cell phones to call home for the first time in weeks.

"It's refreshing to be back in normal society and behave like a normal person for a day," said Christopher Hinthorne, 24, of Rockland, Mass. "We get to watch football and play video games. After eight weeks of no media it's good."

Jonathan Luna, 21, of Phoenix said he was grateful for the experience he called unexpected and overwhelming.

"I didn't expect so much still being a recruit," Luna said. "Like (people saying), 'Oh, thank you for defending our country.' "

Post 2801 has been hosting sailors for about 20 years.

"It gives you a warm feeling inside when you see them smiling," said volunteer Arlyne Gerhard said.

Volunteer Maureen King said she hopes the young men will enjoy their experience and consider joining the VFW one day too.

The volunteers also wanted to make sure the recruits' families know they're being cared for, so in addition to offering up their cell phones, they also planned to take a group photo and sent copies to sailors' loved ones.

The seamen also had plenty of food to fill up on throughout the day - doughnuts in the morning, a large traditional Thanksgiving feast with all the trimmings in the afternoon, and a round of sandwiches before heading back to Great Lakes in the evening.

The Villa Park Rotary Club, Hertz, Sunrise Chevrolet, Mr. Z's of Lombard, Kuppies Bakery and Mike's Meat Market of Villa Park all pitched in to provide the food and transportation.

"It was nice coming here for Thanksgiving," said Angel Perez, 27, of Indiana. "The food was good, they showed us a lot of hospitality."

In addition to groups hosting recruits, 286 families from around the suburbs also hosted pairs of sailors Thursday. Those sailors are currently in "A" school for specialized training. The Adopt-A-Sailor program has been ongoing since World War I.

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