All of us here at Victory Girls wish you a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving. We wish your home to be filled with all the joy and happiness of the day. And we hope you all take a moment to give thanks for the many good things in your life and remember all those who cannot be home today to celebrate.

The image of our card is drawn from the herculean effort of Quartermaster Corps in 1944 to make sure all US soldiers in France received a Thanksgiving meal.

In October 1944 a ship departed from New York City, bound for France, with important cargo. At the time, hundreds of ships were crossing the Atlantic Ocean ferrying supplies to the war effort in the European and Mediterranean theaters. This one, though, wasn’t carrying arms, ammunition, or armor. The SS Great Republic was carrying all the turkey that was supposed to be served to U.S. troops in France for Thanksgiving that year. (snip)

The Army estimated that a traditional Thanksgiving dinner would be one and a half pounds and equal to three other meals. Turkey, being a bird, was much bulkier to ship than beef or pork, requiring four and a half times the storage space.

The SS Great Republic was a reefer ship, built to carry refrigerated goods. And for this voyage across the Atlantic Ocean it was loaded with 1,604 tons of turkey, enough for every American soldier in Europe. One ship, more than one million Thanksgiving dinners. Thankfully for the crew, the birds had already been butchered. (snip)

The SS Great Republic arrived in France on Nov. 18, along with the accompanying apples, oranges, fresh eggs, onions and cabbage. A fleet of trucks was assembled to transport the food to the front lines. And while some troops didn’t receive their Thanksgiving rations until a day or two after the holiday, more than 1.6 million pounds of turkey did make its way to just about every soldier in Europe.

Today there are active military members who will not be having dinner at home with family and friends. Please take a moment to remember them as you say grace.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving wherever you are breaking bread today.

Love,

Victory Girls …

featured image graphic created by Darleen Click