President Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Monday helped the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve pack up toys for distribution to needy families before Christmas, praising the giving spirit of America’s youngest generation and the military families who they said represent the “very spine of our nation.”
Toys for Tots was celebrating its 75th anniversary with the first couple at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall.
Mr. Biden said it can be “extra tough” for military families around the holidays, recalling the empty seat at the dinner table when his late son, Beau, deployed to Iraq.
Beau Biden died of cancer in 2015, though the president recounted what it was like for his grandkids not to have their father around on Christmas because of military obligations.