American Legion in Palatine hosts naval recruits for Thanksgiving

Three dozen naval recruits spent part of Thanksgiving Day bowling, playing pool and picking songs on the jukebox at the Arlington Lanes in Arlington Heights.

Later, they'd have a turkey dinner hosted by the American Legion Post 690 in Palatine, rounding out their brief sojourn from the everyday grind of boot camp at Naval Station Great Lakes near North Chicago.

For Nic Hester, 18, the youngest recruit in the group, the holiday was the first spent thousands of miles away from his family in Sacramento, California.

"It was pretty rough waking up without seeing my mom and dad," he said. "We always go to my grandma's house, and she makes this huge meal. It's the first thing that I thought about this morning."

He and other recruits, who are six weeks into a rigorous boot camp, said it's just part of what they signed up for.

"From the age of 3 when I started to learn things, I knew this was going to be how my life went," said 22-year-old Joseph Diego, whose family lives across the Pacific Ocean in Guam.

Fred Hall, a member of Post 690 and former Army recruiter and trainer, said seeing the naval recruits reminded him of his time in military service. "I remember how difficult it is for these young men and women - their first major holiday away from family," Hall said.

To ease the burden, the recruits were provided computers and phones to talk with family and friends. It's usually the highlight, organizers said.

Daniel McLean, a 20-year-old recruit from Brentwood, California, said they've had only a few phone calls during boot camp but most communication has been through letters that take a week to arrive. Asked in between rounds of bowling whom he planned to call first, McLean said he hadn't decided yet.

"It's a tossup between my family and my girlfriend," he said. "I've never been away for a holiday. I've always been with friends or family."