Gary Palmer: An empty place at the Thanksgiving table

  With so many American men and women deployed in the war against terror, it is fitting and appropriate in this Thanksgiving season to give special attention to, and thanks for, the sacrifices made by many American families who will have an empty place at their table on this Thanksgiving Day. Normally, we do not think of Thanksgiving in the context of war. But as an official United States holiday, Thanksgiving is inextricably linked to our nation's founding and to our times of war.

  The first official thanksgiving proclamation was issued in 1777 by the Continental Congress after the American victory in the Battle of Saratoga. The proclamation asked God to "...smile upon us in the prosecution of a just and necessary war, for the defense and establishment of our unalienable rights and liberties."