As you eat Thanksgiving dinner at home, thousands of members of the U.S. Armed Forces are eating Thanksgiving dinner in combat zones, thousands of miles away from their family and friends.

That also applies to some veterans here in the Valley, but the community is making them feel otherwise.

Far too many veterans who come home from those combat zones face a different type of battle upon their return, stresses that lead to a downward spiral.

But there's a place in the Valley that helps heal about 250 of those veterans each year, especially during holidays like Thanksgiving.

What may seem like a simple handout, a token of turkey to you, may seem like the true embodiment of Thanksgiving to military veterans like Mike Lavis and Jacob Zell.

[I was a] "United States navy hospital corpsman, search and rescue," says Lavis.

"I was an infantry soldier. I was a gun bunny. I was heavy weapons," adds Zell.

Generations apart, Mike, a Vietnam-era vet, and Jacob, two tours in the War on Terror, came together Thursday at U.S. Vets, a non-profit that helps veterans re-integrate into society and the workforce after overcoming obstacles like addiction and homelessness.

The vets were thankful for the chance to place orders instead of taking orders, the spirit of Thanksgiving sponsored by the Che Lu Motorcycle Club.

"It's the least we can do for what they've done for our country.  They've earned it," says Cheri Quijano, of U.S. Vets and Che Lu.

"It means a lot. It definitely means a lot," adds Zell.

"It's having the family that maybe we didn't have when we were on the streets, and it's a big family," says Lavis.

And a big gesture of thanks to the veterans who helped provide many of the freedoms you're likely thankful for.

So, you may be asking yourself "why bikers?"

Last Thanksgiving, when a group of volunteer chefs dipped out on U.S. Vets at the last minute, one of the workers who's a biker recruited her club to do the cooking.

It has become a tradition, two-years in the making.