McHENRY – This was Hampton Austin’s first Thanksgiving away from his family, so the Hattiesburg, Miss., native jumped on a bus from Naval Station Great Lakes, where he’s learning to be an electrician, to have a free dinner at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in McHenry.

“I was thinking about it pretty hard this morning,” the 18-year-old Austin said. “Coming here, it felt good ... it’s my new family.”

Austin, who is a fireman apprentice in the Navy, was one of 160 young sailors who ate turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, green beans, salad, cookies, pie and more the annual Thanksgiving dinner for sailors at the VFW.