Amanda Codispoti | The Roanoke Times

Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Dean serves baked beans at the Rescue Mission.

Sandra Eanes gets plenty of help in the kitchen at the Rescue Mission, where she generally cooks for about 300 people.

But she's never had the type of help that she got Friday.

About 20 sailors and recruits from the Navy were under her command at the emergency shelter, peeling potatoes, slicing tomatoes and chopping onions.

"They all were great," Eanes said. "They got things done in half the time."

The sailors, 35 in all, are in Roanoke for Navy Week, which began Thursday and ends Wednesday.

The sailors will be at several events in the next few days, and hope to give residents exposure to the Navy, a branch of the military this area rarely sees.

The Fourth of July barbecue was one of the outreach events planned for the week.

The sailors went to work at 7:30 a.m., crowding the kitchen and setting up tables in preparation for the 500 people they were expecting.

"It is kind of like a dance," said Lt. Pat Mallet. "Everybody's doing their part."

After they shaped hamburger patties and cut the vegetables, they even mopped the floors and put the kitchen back in order, Eanes said.

"It is just a habit," Mallet said. "To me, it was kind of like being on a ship."

Among the sailors were Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Dean, a native of Bedford County, and Chief Petty Officer Jeff Reid, a native of Martinsville.

Neither was bothered by spending their holiday weekend in Roanoke.

"The Roanoke area doesn't get to see what their Navy does, or get to talk with sailors," Dean said.

Residents in the Hampton Roads area, where their ship, the USS Carl Vinson is ported, are used to seeing sailors.

"We come here and our white uniforms stand out," Dean said. "People are so nice, so appreciative. We get that Southern hospitality."

Several people have thanked Dean and the other sailors for their service.

"It feels good, but that's not why we are here," he said.

Reid, who worked in Roanoke as a Navy recruiter from 2001 to 2004, said he welcomed the opportunity to visit the area.

"It's been a pleasure to come back and give back," he said.

Reid and Dean manned the grills, and figured they flipped about 300 hamburgers.

Their culinary skills didn't go unnoticed.

"They did an excellent job," said Johnnie Dotson, who filled his plate with pasta salad, baked beans, a hot dog and a hamburger.

Dotson, 41, of Roanoke, used to stay at the Rescue Mission, but has since moved into an apartment, he said.

He came back Thursday to see old friends, and was surprised to see the sailors serving him.

"I thank God for people like this," he said.

TODAY 5 p.m., Navy Vs. Media charity softball game at Moyer Sports Complex

SUNDAY 12 to 8 p.m. Navy dive tank and SEAL Accelerator on display, Salem Fair

MONDAY 2 p.m., Roanoke Navy Week proclamation, city hall

7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Navy band concert, Salem fair

TUESDAY 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. "Day in the life of a sailor," Salem YMCA

WEDNESDAY 10:30 a.m. reading, Roanoke City Libraries main library

NAVY WEEK HIGHLIGHTS