Opening their homes to Coast Guard recruits for Thanksgiving

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Young men and women training to become members of the U.S. Coast Guard will enjoy a home-cooked meal thanks to strangers who welcome them into their southern New Jersey homes for Thanksgiving and Christmas as part of a tradition that has taken place for 33 years.

The Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May is the service's only facility that transforms volunteers into enlisted personnel during a 53-day program of exercise, drills, and studies from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m., seven days a week.

Recruits arrive in the dark so they never get to see Cape May, one of New Jersey's most romantic resorts, featuring Victorian bed-and-breakfasts that welcome visitors year round.

Capt. Owen Gibbons, commanding officer of the training center, said recruits "are absolutely buoyed to get to the finish line" of training after experiencing their first public appreciation for their commitment to the service.

The Browns stay in touch though social media, and the graduates sometimes return to show their families where they spent Thanksgiving.