FORT RILE, Kan. -- On the afternoon of Nov. 24, 28 Soldiers and their families sat down to eat dinner at the home of Spc. Jeff Straka, Company B, 601st Aviation Support Battalion, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, and his wife Dawn. The Strakas said they open their home during Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter each year to friends and families to help combat the loneliness and the stress of the holidays by providing a home-cooked meal and a family environment.
Dawn and Jeff said the holidays are especially important to them because it is a time of increased suicide rates among active-duty Soldiers. They said they feel strongly about preventing suicide because Jeff's unit lost one of its members to suicide the previous year on Nov. 23, 2015.
For the Strakas, they feel sharing a get-together with others is just one of the many ways they can help prevent Soldiers from taking their lives.
"I can legitimately feel good that my Soldiers are not alone," Jeff said. "If I can make sure that they are being taken care of by giving someone a home-cooked meal, then I'll do it."
The feeling of home started from the moment Soldiers walked in the front door. A paper plate that read "Happy Thanksgiving, knock and walk in," greeted visitors. As Soldiers went further into the house, tables were set in the living area off the kitchen and the room was bustling with little kids and babies, while Soldiers laughed and joked as they snacked on deviled eggs.
As each dish was prepared and completed, it was set on the tables, out of the reach of the family's big German shepherd dog. Music filled the room and the warm glow from the kitchen lights dispelled the grey skies outside the house.
Before the meal began, Dawn stood with Jeff, and she said grace, preferring to "say something you are thankful for, instead of a prayer because we all have different religions. We need to remember those who aren't here today, who can't be here because they are gone
Remembering those who are absent is a long tradition for Jeff. When he was growing up in Pennsylvania, his family, an Army family, set an empty place setting at the table the entire year to remember the people who sacrificed for everyone and could not be at the dinner table. The couple is originally from Pennsylvania, with Dawn growing up in the next borough over from Jeff.
This Thanksgiving is the seventh year of the family's open invitation to single Soldiers and young Army families. It started in Jeff's previous duty station down in El Paso, Texas, and they invited Soldiers across the post to join them for meals over the Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter holidays.
In 2012, while they were stationed in Texas, the family hosted a dinner with a Soldier from every brigade at the post in attendance. This Thanksgiving was no different. Many of the Soldiers who attended the Straka's dinner were at the home for previous Thanksgivings.
After the meal was cleaned and put away, and leftovers were sent home, the family put up their Christmas tree with the help of friends who stayed and took meals over to friends who were on duty.
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