President-elect Barack Obama, on holiday in Hawaii, made a Christmas Day stop at a Marine Corps base in Hawaii yesterday, where he greeted troops and their family members during holiday dinner. Mr Obama spent a little more then an hour greeting servicemen and women at the mess hall at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay. The Obama family celebrated Christmas by opening presents at their rental compound in Kailua.
Earlier yesterday, in a holiday radio and online video address, Mr Obama paid tribute to US sailors, soldiers, airmen, marines and coast guard forces. "In towns and cities across America, there is an empty seat at the dinner table; in distant bases and on ships at sea, our servicemen and women can only wonder at the look on their child's face as they open a gift back home," said the president-elect, who is due to take the oath of office on January 20.
*AFP
