YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — The shortest distance between Japan and the continental United States is approximately 6,040 miles, and service members can feel every one of them at Thanksgiving.
Unaccompanied troops — those without family nearby — may feel particularly lonely this time of year.
At Yokota, an Air Force airlift hub in western Tokyo, the USO brought a taste of home to single service members with an early Thanksgiving meal on Tuesday.
Similar events have been cooked for other U.S. base in Japan. For example, the USO will be offering free lunches on Thanksgiving Day to troops at Yokosuka Naval Base, homeport of the 7th Fleet south of Yokohama, and at Kadena Air Base, home of the 18th Wing on Okinawa.