Crossville’s American Legion will serve Christmas dinner Thursday, providing friendship and support to local veterans.
Post Commander Mike Ratterman said Christmas should never be considered just another day on the calendar. Ratterman said Cumberland County has one of the largest veteran communities in the state, with many spending Christmas Day alone. Ratterman said he created the event to provide companionship for the large number of veterans sitting at home who would like to celebrate Christmas with someone.
“I think it can put them in a better frame of mind,” Ratterman said. “Being alone on the holidays is hard mentally. Any mental health professional will tell you that. Veteran suicide rates and the holidays go up.”
Ratterman said his father was his inspiration for the program. Ratterman said he watched his father participate and create Christmas dinner events for the city as a police officer during the holidays when he was a child. Now, he plans to do what he can for the veteran community.
“I don’t have the venue to do anything on the scale that they were doing, but I have the venue to do something on a smaller scale,” Ratterman said. “And I figured any scale is better than no scale.”
Ratterman said this program gives the large county veteran community the opportunity to get out of the house and connect with other veterans and their families. Ratterman said this could open doors for them they did not know existed.
“Just fellowship is the biggest part of it,” Ratterman said. “Everything else is secondary. Just the chance to be around people.”
Ratterman said veterans are the reason our country is the way it is, sacrificing much of themselves for the overall good of the country. Ratterman said part of the reason for Christmas is looking out for others in the community. Ratterman said this program is how American Legion aims to provide a comforting atmosphere for veterans this holiday season.