Obama calls service members for holiday

WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama called 10 U.S. service members Thursday to spread Thanksgiving wishes and thank them for their service.

Obama called two service members each from the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf. The president thanked the service members on behalf of himself, first lady Michelle Obama and the nation.

Earlier Thursday, Obama gave thanks for the sacrifices of the U.S. military during his weekly radio and Internet address, which was moved up due to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

"We keep in our thoughts and prayers the many families marking this Thanksgiving with an empty seat -- saved for a son or daughter, or husband or wife, stationed in harm's way," Obama said. "And we say a special thanks for the sacrifices those men and women in uniform are making for our safety and freedom, and for all those Americans who enrich the lives of our communities through acts of kindness, generosity and service."

Obama also recognized that millions of Americans are going through tough economic times.

"Too many," he said, "are wondering if the dream of a middle-class life -- that American Dream -- is slipping away.

"These are not strangers. They are our family, our friends, and our neighbors. Their struggles must be our concern."

The first-year Democratic president said the U.S. economy "is finally growing again" because of steps Congress and his administration have taken -- including tax cuts for "95 percent of working people and small businesses," jobless benefits extension, and efforts to staunch the flood of foreclosures, halt the decline in home values and bring about healthcare reform.

"But we cannot rest -- and my administration will not rest -- until we have revived this economy and rebuilt it stronger than before; until we are creating jobs and opportunities for middle-class families; until we have moved beyond the cycles of boom and bust -- of reckless risk and speculation -- that led us to so much crisis and pain these past few years.

"And it is my fervent hope -- and my heartfelt expectation -- that next Thanksgiving we will be able to celebrate the fact that many of those who have lost their jobs are back at work, and that as a nation we will have come through these difficult storms stronger and wiser and grateful to have reached a brighter day."