KAILUA, Hawaii — President-elect Barack Obama visited military families while they ate Christmas dinner, thanking them for their service and posing for pictures.
Obama on Thursday visited Marine Corps Base Hawaii near his rented vacation home and briefly chatted with enlisted members who ate turkey, ham and roast beef. He didn’t make formal remarks or speak to reporters during the stop, one of the few public sightings of the president-elect on what aides call a private family vacation.
“Hey,” Obama said as he walked into the mess hall wearing a short-sleeve shirt and slacks. “Just wanted to say ‘hi.’ ”
Obama lingered a few minutes at each table as the Marines and sailors and their families stood to greet their next commander in chief.
“What part of Indiana?” he asked one person. To another: “This is the East Coast table, huh?”
Obama and his family planned to spend their Christmas holiday mostly out of sight. Obama, his wife, Michelle, and their two young daughters opened presents earlier Thursday and planned a dinner of turkey and ham, according to aides. They did not release any other details.
The Obamas arrived in Honolulu on Saturday with four aides, his Secret Service detail and a small group of journalists. Since then, he has been largely sequestered at the beachfront estate.
President George W. Bush spent Christmas at Camp David, the 12th time he and his family have celebrated the Yuletide holiday at the Maryland presidential retreat.
Bush’s parents, former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, along with the president’s siblings and their families also were marking the occasion at Camp David, as were the president’s twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna, and Jenna’s husband, Henry Hager, the White House said.
Bush spent part of Christmas Eve morning phoning U.S. troops stationed around the world.
Among them was Sgt. Aaron M. Simmons, a Fort Carson soldier. Simmons serves with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. His wife, Fawn Simmons, lives in Colorado Springs.
