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American Morning
Troops Thanksgiving
Aired November 27, 2003 - 07:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It's tough to be away on the holidays. U.S. troops in their mission in Iraq will be on the minds of many here in this country. A special Thanksgiving for forces there with traditional holiday fare is being served, including more than a ton of turkey.
Jane Arraf with some of those troops now live in Baghdad.
Jane -- hello.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Hello, Bill.
There is an awful lot of turkey and everything else here. This is Camp Mule Skinner, which is the home of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment -- a regiment with a long tradition, going back to 1836. And here, they're carrying on this American tradition, Thanksgiving dinner, which includes -- I just want to read you a little bit of the menu. It started with shrimp cocktail, and now you can see these guys, they're moving on to roast turkey, glazed ham, ham hocks, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, and it just goes on and on and on.
Now, to give us a review of this Thanksgiving meal we have with us Sergeant Charles Green from Tallahassee, Florida.
Now, Sergeant Green, your mom, Shirley Thomas, from Tallahassee is watching this. So, I want you to tell us, how does this compare with your normal Thanksgiving dinner?
SGT. CHARLES GREEN, U.S. ARMY: Well, you know, it's a good thing to be here, you know, with people you know and people you, you know, trust and work with. But, you know, it's not that much different from home, you know, just besides being away from, you know, the people that you love, you know.
ARRAF: How is this mission going for you? This is a pretty tough place to be.
GREEN: Yes, it is. But the people here -- we've got a great command, you know, it's the command is very great. And, you know, we maintain it.
ARRAF: OK. But tell us about the turkey. How is the turkey?
GREEN: Oh, the turkey was great. Man, I had, like, four pieces already. I think I'm going to go up for a little more.
ARRAF: Thank you so much.
That was Sergeant Charles Green, one of about 3,000 people who have come through this dining facility -- one of the biggest in Iraq -- to take part in the special Thanksgiving meal. And he'll have a chance later on to watch some football, call home again, and do a few things that people here normally -- soldiers here don't normally get to do.
Back to you.
HEMMER: Jane, thanks. Jane Arraf from Baghdad. We will not be far from Jane checking in throughout the day here on this holiday.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired November 27, 2003 - 07:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It's tough to be away on the holidays. U.S. troops in their mission in Iraq will be on the minds of many here in this country. A special Thanksgiving for forces there with traditional holiday fare is being served, including more than a ton of turkey.
Jane Arraf with some of those troops now live in Baghdad.
Jane -- hello.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Hello, Bill.
There is an awful lot of turkey and everything else here. This is Camp Mule Skinner, which is the home of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment -- a regiment with a long tradition, going back to 1836. And here, they're carrying on this American tradition, Thanksgiving dinner, which includes -- I just want to read you a little bit of the menu. It started with shrimp cocktail, and now you can see these guys, they're moving on to roast turkey, glazed ham, ham hocks, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, and it just goes on and on and on.
Now, to give us a review of this Thanksgiving meal we have with us Sergeant Charles Green from Tallahassee, Florida.
Now, Sergeant Green, your mom, Shirley Thomas, from Tallahassee is watching this. So, I want you to tell us, how does this compare with your normal Thanksgiving dinner?
SGT. CHARLES GREEN, U.S. ARMY: Well, you know, it's a good thing to be here, you know, with people you know and people you, you know, trust and work with. But, you know, it's not that much different from home, you know, just besides being away from, you know, the people that you love, you know.
ARRAF: How is this mission going for you? This is a pretty tough place to be.
GREEN: Yes, it is. But the people here -- we've got a great command, you know, it's the command is very great. And, you know, we maintain it.
ARRAF: OK. But tell us about the turkey. How is the turkey?
GREEN: Oh, the turkey was great. Man, I had, like, four pieces already. I think I'm going to go up for a little more.
ARRAF: Thank you so much.
That was Sergeant Charles Green, one of about 3,000 people who have come through this dining facility -- one of the biggest in Iraq -- to take part in the special Thanksgiving meal. And he'll have a chance later on to watch some football, call home again, and do a few things that people here normally -- soldiers here don't normally get to do.
Back to you.
HEMMER: Jane, thanks. Jane Arraf from Baghdad. We will not be far from Jane checking in throughout the day here on this holiday.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
