About 200 children of active-duty Marines at Camp Pendleton got a front row seat as the country’s second lady, Usha Vance, and Marine Col. Charles Dudik read from “Norman and the Smell of Adventure.”
The event on Friday, July 12 — coordinated by Blue Star Families and Walt Disney — is part of the “Books on Bases” program that is meant to show the active-duty families that they have a community to rely on and a nation that supports them, said Maggie Meza, executive director of the San Diego Chapter of the Blue Star Families nonprofit, a national organization that helps with services to address the challenges military families face.
Related: Vice President Vance heads to Orange County for some family time
The program included Vance — who used the opportunity to spotlight her own Summer Reading Challenge — Dudik and Disney volunteers.
The families got a surprise when “Stitch,” known as Disney’s alien creature, appeared. Kids lined up for pictures with him and later received books to take home.
The event also included arts and crafts, and the second lady, who is from San Diego, helped color, make friendship bracelets and decorate felt flags. Kids got to take home a copy of “Norman and the Smell of Adventure,” and there was a book fair for families to explore and leave with new reads to enjoy all summer.
“Thank you to the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton and to its partners for inviting me to join Blue Star Families in celebrating reading and creating memories,” Vance said to those at the event. “My family enjoyed sharing this special day of learning with other families.”
Among the parents at Friday’s reading was Rebekah McCoy, 32, and her five children: Anabelle, 11; Kennedy, 9; Molly, 6; Garrett,4 and Jack, 3. The siblings — plus Annabelle’s diabetic support dog, Mickey — were totally ready for the Disney-themed event and came dressed in costumes. McCoy wore a black and white Mickey sweater.
“It was a magical moment,” McCoy said, noting her strong ties to Disneyland while growing up in Brea. “Anything with Disney is magical. I love that they brought it to the military base because of how many people have children and either don’t go to Disney (or) never been to Disney.”
McCoy and her husband, a gunnery sergeant with the 7th Engineer Support Battalion, have moved six times in her husband’s 16-year career. Three times, they’ve been at Camp Pendleton.
She said events like this one help military families feel connected.
“My husband always says, I make my friends the last year I’m in a duty station,” McCoy said. “It’s so true because you go somewhere new and you’re like, do you want to reach out, and you’re just getting used to the area.”
Beyond the sense of belonging she felt today, she was also extremely grateful that Vance — who wore a flowery dress and brought her daughter with her — took the time to come to the base and visit the Marine and Navy families.
“For her to come to Camp Pendleton and read to our kids and interact with us, I think, was phenomenal,” she said, adding that on TV, people like the second lady always seem a world away. “It really meant a lot to all of us families. We’re not forgotten.”
“It brings tears to my eyes because a lot of times, as a military family, you go everywhere and don’t know anyone, and you feel forgotten, unseen, and unheard,” she said. “For her to see us, listen to us, and talk to us, it was absolutely phenomenal.”
Dudik, who is the Marine Corps Installations West chief of staff, said, “Today’s event with Blue Star Families and our valued partners at Disney is more than a celebration of reading — it’s a reminder of the importance of connection, learning, and joy in the lives of our children. We are deeply honored to welcome the second lady of the United States, whose presence underscores the nation’s enduring appreciation for the sacrifices military families make.
Meza, a military spouse who raised three children on U.S. bases during her husband’s service in the Marine Corps, said she did her best to make life “not so scary, but to show the benefits of it.” She said she relied on groups like Blue Star Families, which started in 2009, to give her children activities that would create a network for them.
“Our military children move so frequently,” she said. “Summer is a big season to be moving, and some are new to the community or have parents who have come off deployments or are deployed, so community events like this show support for our military families and show that we see them, hear them and are here to provide some free family fun and free things to do in the summer.”
Blue Star Families is the largest group nationwide serving military families. The group’s purpose is to connect Blue Star families to their own programming and to partnerships, such as the one held on base.
The group also conducts an annual military lifestyle survey, allowing families to share their opinions on the challenges and needs they face. With the results in hand, Meza said the group does its best to address those and bases its programs on those responses.
That includes trying to create family moments in the community — and free events, given concerns about the cost of living.
“We try to remove that isolated feeling military families have and show them that there is a community that cares,” Meza said.
Meza knows the challenges families face firsthand. She and her family moved 15 times in 25 years.
“I love him and I knew he loved our country, that was something I knew we were going to support and be 100% behind, ” she said of her husband, who served 32 years with his last post being at Camp Pendleton when he retired in 2019. “Every duty station I treated as an adventure, but there were tough times, and it was very isolating, especially when he was gone on deployments, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to be in Orange County this weekend for some family time, local officials said. Security personnel are working with Disneyland Resort Security in preparation for an upcoming guest visit, according to Disneyland officials.
Meanwhile, on the way home Friday, McCoy said her daughter Kennedy was still so enthralled by the festivities with the second lady that she broke out her new book — the same one Vance had read earlier — and read the story again to her siblings.