VP Biden’s Thanksgiving Dinner for the Troops

ABC News' Vija Udenans reports: The vice president and Dr. Jill Biden hosted a family style Thanksgiving dinner at their residence in Washington tonight for military families to thank them for their service.

Mr. Biden told the guests that he and his wife believe that there is “one sacred duty” and that nothing is as sacred “as caring for those who we send to war.”

The 29 guests were from the Fisher House residents who live in the DC area at Walter Reed, Bethesda Naval and Andrews AFB while their family members receive extended medical attention at the military hospitals.

The vice president acknowledged  the sacrifices of the military families and spoke of the respect and honor they earned. “Never before has this place been accorded such an honor as tonight. No individual group has walked thru that door that has lent more dignity than you.”

The wife of the vice president, Jill Biden, has taken an expressed interest in military families and made it one of her top priorities.  As a mother of a Army National Guardsman, she told her guests that she understood how they felt, since their son Beau is home this year after a year in Iraq. She told them, “This is a small thank you from the Biden family to your family.”

The guests were treated to a traditional thanksgiving meal with sugar-cured turkey with sage gravy, pecan cornbread dressing, whipped Yukon gold potatoes, garlic and butter green beans, pomegranate-cranberry sauce, caramel pumpkin pie with mile high whipped cream and pecan pie. 

Two dinner tables were set up for the 29 guests in the first floor of the vice president's mansion spanning the dining room and the grand foyer.  The tables were set with  formal dinnerware,  a centerpiece of a cornucopia of fall flowers, and 4 tall candles lit on each table.   A Marine band member was playing  a harp for background music. Most of the guests were attired in their Sunday best; no uniforms were present.

The Fisher House foundation chairman, Kenneth Fisher, told ABC that their organization is  a public-private partnership that in a non-political manner supports the veterans. It does not support a particular war philosophy.  In tandem with the government they have set up 43 Fisher houses around the country to support the families of the veterans.  The government gives the land for Fisher House to build on. Once completed the homes are given to a branch of the military to operate.