CAPE MAY – Thanksgiving is designated as a time to stop and give thanks to those around us and that is exactly what Operation Fireside aims to do.
Operation Fireside is a joint operation between the American Red Cross and The United States Coast Guard that started in 1981. Each year, dozens of young men and women from all over the country leave their homes to come to Cape May for basic training. Unfortunately, that means some recruits are in basic training during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. The Red Cross has paired up with the Coast Guard to find local families to host the recruits Thanksgiving and Christmas day. This year, about 150 recruits were placed with Cape May County families.
Virginia O’Neill and family have been participating in Operation Fireside for at least 15 years. “They are going to be serving our country and we feel like it is the least we can do,” O’Neill said about why her family is so actively involved in the program. The O’Neill’s have had as many as seven recruits at one time to feed and entertain. The family had a full day of events planned for the recruits including a trip to Sea Isle City to see the beach.
This year Seamen Recruits Patricia Carrow and Michael McCarthy visited the O’Neill’s. McCarthy is from Langhorne, Pa. and Carrow is from Raleigh, N.C. “I am extremely grateful for the opportunity and thankful that families that do not even know us are willing to open up their doors and allow us to join them for dinner,” Carrow said.
Seamen Recruit Michael Coreano knows all too well how important it is to be with family during the holidays. Coreano’s wife is in Florida while he is in Cape May for basic training. Coreano said, “I love the idea. It is something wonderful for the recruits and it means a lot to the community.” Recruits were overwhelmed by the amount of volunteers in Cape May willing to host them.
Coast Guard Captain, Todd Prestidge, said, “This is as much a family tradition as turkey and stuffing.” Prestidge has just moved to Cape May from Washington D.C. and had never seen anything like Operation Fireside prior. He was impressed with the overwhelming support from the community to help the recruits. He said he was sorry that he did not have enough recruits to spend time with everyone who had volunteered. Prestidge said that there are two things a recruit will remember if they are in basic training during the holidays. “They will remember basic training and the generosity of Southern New Jersey,” he said.
For the Gain’s family, Operation Fireside is all about demonstrating gratitude for the recruits. The Gains have a son who is a member of the Young Marines, a program for children eight years old through high school. “We are just very appreciative of the Coast Guard,” Christine Gain said. This is their second year participating in Operation Fireside. They had such a great experience with their first recruits they could not help but host another set. The Gain’s family keeps in touch the first recruits they had.
Recruits who are currently in training weeks three to seven are allowed to participate in Operation Fireside. The O’Neill family recommends calling the local Red Cross around Labor Day to get on the hosting list if any family is interested. They can be reached at 609-465-7382.
To contact Ashley Hoff, email ahoff@cmcherald.com.
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