President Biden, first lady celebrate 'Friendsgiving' with military families in Cherry Point

The "Friendsgiving" dinner is part of the White House's Joining Forces Initiative.

This was an early Thanksgiving celebration that the Marines and their families won’t forget.

President Biden and the First Lady arrived in the hangar at Cherry Point with a Marine family - gunnery Sergeant Anthony Gonzalez, his wife Jennifer and their four children.

Jennifer Gonzalez talked about what special moments – like the holidays - can be like for military families.

"It’s not easy to see the empty seat at the table when mom isn’t there for your birthday or dad misses your soccer season, but in the end, the values it instills in our children are worth it," she said.

The President thanked families like theirs for their sacrifices.

"Every single day they worry about you. Every single moment," said Biden. "So we owe them, too. We owe them a big debt of gratitude."

After that, the President and first lady got to work serving up meals for the more than 400 Marines, sailors, and their families here for the dinner.

They even went table-to-table to meet with the families.