Continuing their 'donuts' tradition, Salvation Army Donut Lassies celebrated National Donut Day on Friday by serving donuts to military veterans at Thomas E. Creek VA Medical Center.

Donuts, a kind of sweet dessert, originated during First World War when two Salvation Army volunteers, known as Donut Girls or Doughnut Dollies, prepared donuts in the trenches for U. S. soldiers serving in France.

Yesterday, Donut Girls wearing outfits resembling uniforms that women wore during the First World War served 320 donuts to veterans, and thanks veterans for their service in the war.

Former Air Force Technical Sgt. Rick Thomas, said, "I think it's really great to support veterans . Pretty much all of the organizations (in Amarillo) really support the veterans here. I think that's really good for the community and really good for the veterans."

Thomas served the U. S. Air Force from February 1971 to November 1993. He served during the Vietnam War and was deployed in Berlin after the so-called Cold War and during Desert Storm.

During the world war, Ensign Margaret Sheldon and Adjutant Helen Purviance used to fry donuts in soldiers' helmets. Many soldiers started visiting the Salvation Army huts to enjoy the delicious dessert. Nearly 250 Salvation Army volunteers traveled overseas during the war to set up the huts that were located in discarded buildings near the front lines.

National Donut Day was established in the year of 1938. Since then, it is celebrated on the first Friday of June.