Thanksgiving Dinner Aboard USS Idaho- 1936,1937, and 1945

We recently received several items from a veteran of the battleships USS Idaho (BB-42) and Alabama (BB-60). Two of the items were Thanksgiving Day menus from 1936 and 1937. Click to enlarge any of the images.

When the war ended, Idaho came to Norfolk Naval Shipyard one last time for a post-war inspection before she headed into mothballs. This 1945 Thanksgiving Day menu comes courtesy of the USS Idaho Memorial Website.

Happy Thanksgiving from USS Agamemnon

Included in the museum's collection is this Thanksgiving Day dinner menu from USS Agamemnon (ID#3004).  What's on the menu?  Stewards and cooks served roast young turkey, oyster cocktail, oyster dressing, pickles, candied sweet potatoes, sugar corn, queen olives, fruit, cake, ice cream, cigars, and mixed nuts (which seems to be a staple item of every Navy Thanksgiving meal during the past 100 years).

For the company of Agamemnon, there was much to be thankful for. She made several trans-Atlantic crossings to France during the war while evading German U-boats. During one of the crossings, she collided with USS DeKalb (ID#3010) and stayed afloat.   She even survived an influenza outbreak.  Most importantly, the war was over at the time of the dinner.  The ship's company enjoyed the Thanksgiving meal in France while waiting to bring thousands of American soldiers back to the states.

Agamemnon at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, 1919

Thanksgiving Dinner 1945

You know what you had for dinner yesterday, but ever wonder what Sailors at Naval Training Station Norfolk ate in 1945? Check out the menu from their dinner! We also have a previous blog post that details some of the Thanksgiving menus from Norfolk-based warships during World War II. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving at Sea

Posted here are two Thanksgiving Day menus from locally based warships during World War II.  The first two images are from the battleship USS New York (BB-34), which was serving as a gunnery training vessel in the Chesapeake Bay at the time. The second menu is from the hard working destroyer USS Livermore (DD-429), which was in dry dock at the time recovering from damage suffered during the invasion of southern France.  The destroyer also participated in the Anzio landings and escorted several convoys between Hampton Roads and North Africa.