CAPE MAY – More than 190 U.S. Coast Guard recruits took a break from their training routine to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with local families and several veteran groups as part of Operation Fireside. For these recruits, Black Friday means getting up at 5:30 a.m. not for shopping, but to return to their rigorous training program.
“We usually are up at 5:30 a.m.,” said Eli Haynie, an 18-year-old recruit from Ocean City, Md., who said the normal start to the day is a set of pushups “to get the blood flowing, often outside. Then our day is filled with classes on history, greetings, hands-on exercises and learning core values.”
“We just got a privilege the other week, which was coffee,” he said. “I never drank coffee before training, but it was amazing.”
Haynie, and Michael Florkowski, 18, from Goshen, N.Y., spent the day with Jay and Mary Lou Jordan, who have been hosting recruits on Thanksgiving and Christmas for about 12 years. The Lower Township couple said it was “their gift to each other.”
“Our job is to make them feel at home,” said Jordan, who served in the Marines during the Vietnam War.
Both recruits said they felt at home.
“The first thing we did was kick off our boots and take off our dress shirts that took hours to iron,” said Florkowski. “Then we sat back in the recliners and ate some cookies.” Next, they placed phone calls to their families, followed by a traditional Thanksgiving feast of turkey, dressing, side dishes, and desserts of all varieties.
Jordan said they planned on taking the recruits for a tour of the area, since neither has been off the Coast Guard base during their six weeks of training. The recruits have their first day of liberty Dec. 6 before graduating the following week. Haynie will be based in Hawaii, while Florkowski will be based in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Operation Fireside, which brings together local families and veterans and Coast Guard recruits for Thanksgiving and Christmas, has been going on since 1981. This year there are three companies at the base who were able to participate, spending the holidays with either a family, or at one of four local groups – American Legion and Elks Lodge of Wildwood, Veterans of Foreign Wars of Cape May, and the Disabled American Veterans of Del Haven.
“Many of our past recruits still remember and stay in touch with their host families,” said Chief Warrant Officer John Edwards, training center information officer. “Facebook, email and other social media make it easy. We have people who remember this holiday meal from 17 and 19 years ago. For parents whose son or daughter is away from home on a holiday, it helps to know they are enjoying the day in a loving family’s home.”
For most of the recruits, the chance to watch TV, eat home-cooked meals, use the Internet and make phone calls is what the day is about, Edwards said. “Once they start training, they can’t do any of these things until their Liberty Day.”
Jordan said he and his wife also open their home to the recruits for “Liberty Day,” and often attend graduation ceremonies. Through email and Facebook, they stay in touch with recruits who joined them as part of Operation Fireside in the past. “It’s amazing how one meal can make a difference,” Mary Lou Jordan said.
Families are still needed to host recruits for Christmas Day, according to Georgianna Engels, administrative coordinator for the American Red Cross South Shore Chapter. The Red Cross co-sponsors Operation Fireside with the Coast Guard. “We will have about 350 recruits for Christmas because they are expecting an influx over the next couple weeks.” Anyone interested in hosting a recruit should contact Engels at 646-8330.
Those interested in hosting for next year’s Thanksgiving Day should contact Engels by April. “We’ve had some families who have hosted for nearly 20 years,” she said. “People are very protective of hosting a recruit, so they call early to get on the list.”
For recruits like Haynie and Florkowski, spending the day with a local family is a chance to “decompress, and see that life goes on outside of our training at the base. It’s amazing to be here,” Haynie said. Florkowski agreed, adding that they were “very grateful” to be able to spend the day with a family.
“The carpet is so soft,” Haynie said, looking down at his shoeless feet. “It’s amazing that the small things can make such a difference.”
To contact Karen Knight, email kknight@cmcherald.com.
Cape May – Why don’t some of our well established builders even answer their phones, answer texts or emails. Who would ever recommend them to a friend.
