Veterans and volunteers at the American Legion Post 208 in suburban Arlington Heights hosted a Thanksgiving meal for Navy recruits who spent the last eight weeks in basic training.

It's a tradition that has been more than 25 years in the making.

The recruits have little to no contact with the outside world during training. They don't have access to television, cell phones, social media or newspapers while stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago.

For the Thanksgiving holiday, the sailors took a trip to Post 208 to call their family and friends, eat a home-cooked, warm meal and play games.

"It's just wonderful to take care of them. We all know what it was like in basic training," said Joe DeCaluwe, a commander at the post.

"A lot of us remember being away from home durin

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