Community takes in 300 single Marines for holiday

Community takes in Marines for holiday
November 24, 2011 3:51 AM
HOPE HODGE - DAILY NEWS STAFF
More than 300 single Marines from Camp Lejeune will have a place to go for Thanksgiving, thanks to nearby communities and businesses that want to show their gratitude.

Camp Lejeune Single Marine Program coordinator Susan Goodrich said she was asked to place many more Marines at a holiday meal this year than she has in years previous.

“We’ve added some new communities, and the outlying areas that have contacted me this year have expanded out even more,” she said.

In addition to the River Landing community in Wallace and Fairfield Harbour in New Bern, which have taken Marines in for a day of dinner and relaxation for the last few years, two businesses in Wilmington are making sure troops have a meal.

Carolyn Atkinson, owner of Wilmington’s Flying Pi Kitchen, said she knew when she opened for business this year that she would always have troops at her Thanksgiving table.

“My son was in the Marine Corps. He was stationed at Camp Lejeune for awhile, and he was hosted in the Jacksonville area by a family for Thanksgiving,” Atkinson said. “When I opened my restaurant I decided that as long as I have a kitchen there would be Marines fed in my restaurant for Thanksgiving.
read more here