[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 23522]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     TROOP THANKSGIVING RECOGNITION

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I want to share with you a story of 
Thanksgiving that touched my heart. I am doing it just before Christmas 
to have you think about the effect of holidays on people away from home 
and especially troops stationed away from home and something you might 
do on a very small scale.
  Two years ago, a barber in Cheyenne, WY, was cutting the hair of a 
young man from F. E. Warren Air Force Base and asked him what he was 
going to do for Thanksgiving. The airman guessed he would be spending 
it on the base. The barber, Glen Chavez said, Why don't you have 
Thanksgiving with my wife and I? Then Glen decided he better tell his 
wife. When he did she said, ``Glen, I know you. It won't be just one 
and it won't be limited to a dozen. I'll help, but we need to find 
someplace bigger than our home.'' So Glen asked the Masonic Lodge if he 
could use their building. They said yes and Glen with the help of some 
friends fed 300 people from the base. Yes, the base serves a 
Thanksgiving dinner, but it is not the same if you eat it in the same 
mess hall you eat in every day. Chavez said he started the event to 
combat the loneliness that many members of the military feel when they 
are away from their families during the holidays
  The dinner was such a success that Glen decided to invite even more 
for the next year and to have more of the community involved. I am sure 
there is not a base and city anywhere that has the degree of 
cooperation and concern as Cheyenne and Warren Air Force Base. For 
example, people from the base help construct Habitat for Humanity 
homes. The school district built a new school on the base that also has 
kids attend who do not live on the base and have no military 
connection. The mix benefits everyone. Glen spent the year getting 
ready for this event speaking and enlisting the Chamber of Commerce and 
speaking at Lions, Rotary, and Kiwanis, to name a few.
  So this year was the Second Annual Salute to our Troops. Steve Sears 
of Cheyenne Stitch donated T-shirts for the volunteers. The fire 
department cooked turkeys. They deep fried seven an hour for the 24 
hours before the meal. A service club cooked 750 pounds of potatoes and 
mashed them. People from all over the community baked pies and cakes. 
Dozens of other volunteers helped out. Businesses donated door prizes. 
One prize was a 40-inch HD TV. This Thanksgiving they served over 500 
people.
  This year there was publicity to be sure all were invited. Posters 
went up all over the base and town. Some of that publicity made it to 
the blogosphere nationally. Glen got calls from 14 States commenting on 
the good idea and checking to see if they could duplicate it. Many who 
called told of personal difficulties, some with tragic endings, that 
this kind of an event can perhaps prevent.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent for an article about the event 
from the Wyoming Tribune Eagle to be printed in the Record. I want to 
thank Glen Chavez, the barber, for his idea and his ability to turn a 
dream into reality. Thanks also to all who made the dinner and 
appreciation of our troops possible.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

            [From the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Nov. 13, 2010]

                       Troops Get a Big Thank-You

                           (By Josh Mitchell)

       Cheyenne--Daniel Fletcher with the Army National Guard has 
     two families, and he felt fortunate to be with one of them on 
     Thanksgiving.
       The family he was with consisted of fellow soldiers and was 
     some 500 members strong.
       His other family is spread across the United States.
       As Fletcher sat at a table surrounded by other soldiers at 
     the Masonic Lodge, he reflected on the importance of being 
     with loved ones on Thanksgiving.
       ``It means quite a bit,'' he said.
       But Fletcher, 28, would have been alone on Thanksgiving had 
     it not been for the outpouring of support from about 150 
     volunteers.
       ``I was going to sit at home and eat a TV dinner,'' 
     Fletcher said.
       The Second Annual Military Appreciation Free Thanksgiving 
     Dinner hosted by Glen's Barber Shop of Cheyenne is an effort 
     to show the gratitude owed to members of the armed services, 
     organizer Glen Chavez said.
       As Chavez looked across the dining room at families 
     gathered around tables, he noted, ``This is going to change 
     Thanksgiving forever. Look at how awesome this is.''
       Chavez said he started the event to combat the loneliness 
     that many members of the military feel when they are away 
     from their families during the holidays.
       The military serves the United States all year, and Chavez 
     said it feels good to serve the soldiers for one day.
       The support that Cheyenne shows for the military surprised 
     Fletcher, who is from Poison, Mont. He said when he returned 
     from Iraq he didn't think he would be greeted with much 
     respect, but now he sees that that there is a lot of support 
     for the soldiers.
       Sue Mattingly is not a member of the military, but she 
     still feels a camaraderie with the local soldiers. Mattingly 
     broke down into tears as she talked about losing her dad this 
     year.
       After her loss, local soldiers were there for Mattingly, 
     who is a cook at the bowling alley, where many of the 
     soldiers spend time. ``They're like a family to me,'' 
     Mattingly said. ``Even though I'm a civilian, I feel like 
     I've known them all my life.''
       Being away from family while serving overseas is just part 
     of being a soldier, Greg Wheeler with the Wyoming Air 
     National Guard said.
       ``It is what it is,'' Wheeler said. ``You don't join the 
     military and expect to be home every holiday.''
       But Wheeler was fortunate to be sitting at a table with his 
     wife, children, mom and dad this Thanksgiving.
       Marvin Wolf of Cheyenne remembers spending a Thanksgiving 
     in South Korea during the Korean War.
       ``We had turkey, shrimp and all the trimmings,'' Wolf said. 
     Wolf agreed that spending Thanksgiving with fellow soldiers 
     is like being with a big family.
       This Thanksgiving, Wolf said he is thankful for being an 
     American citizen and for all the opportunities that the 
     United States has offered his family.
       Life is all about love and family, Wolf said. ``That's what 
     brings us together,'' he said.
       Jennifer Roberts, whose husband is in the Air Force, was 
     enjoying the Thanksgiving meal with her three children. Her 
     husband couldn't attend the dinner because he was scheduled 
     to work on the base in Cheyenne.
       But having him at the base here was better than a couple of 
     years ago when he was in Iraq over the holidays.
       Her daughter, Brooke Roberts, 12, said, she is grateful to 
     have her dad home this year.
       Jennifer Roberts said tears came to her eyes when she 
     arrived at the military Thanksgiving dinner Thursday.
       ``It makes you feel at home,'' said Roberts, who is from 
     North Carolina.
       There were over 50 sponsors for the event. U.S. Sen. Mike 
     Enzi, R-Wyo., also made an appearance.
       Chavez said he wants Enzi to take the idea of the military 
     Thanksgiving dinner back to Washington to make it a national 
     event.
       Volunteer Terri Clark said, ``It's an honor to serve them. 
     They serve us. So it's the least we can do.''

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