The US troops receive a grateful message from President Barack Obama in the middle of the first family's Christmas vacation. According to Obama, visiting the service members is one of the favorite things they do because it gives them the opportunity to "say thank you on behalf of the American people," CNN cited.

Together with the first lady Michelle Obama, the U.S. President expressed his gratefulness to the service members during their yearly Christmas visit at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, according to the report. He also paid tribute to the six United States airmen who died during a recent suicide attack in Afghanistan.

"Even though we have been able to reduce the number of folks who are deployed in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, there are still folks over there every single day and it's still dangerous, as we saw this past week with the outstanding brave Americans who were killed," the president said.

Obama also assured that the U.S. troops are not being taken for granted for their service to American people. "You help keep us free. You help keep us strong," he said.

"And whatever service you're in, we are extraordinarily grateful for everything you do every single day. And we hope you guys had a wonderful Christmas."

A ballpark of 460 people attended during the Christmas Day remarks, which were comprised of service members joined by their families, according to the base spokesman. Also appreciating the families of service members, Obama shared that "it's not just those in uniform who serve, it's also the spouses, the kids."

"There are times when you're missing birthdays, missing soccer games, making sacrifices," he further noted.

Before they visited Marine Corps Base, according to Fox News, Obama sang carols together with his family and opened gifts at their vacation rental house in Kailua, located in a laid-back beach town of Oahu, which is regarded as the third biggest of the Hawaiian island. Moreover, the president also thanked other U.S. service members currently based in other parts of the world by phoning them on Christmas Eve, White House revealed, according to reports.

Obama and the first family spent their two-week holiday vacation in Hawaii. They arrived in Aloha State on Dec. 19, Wall Street Journal specified. Aside from the visit to Marine Corps, the president, who ranked third in the Forbes' list of the Most Powerful People 2015, enjoyed his Christmas break playing golf, hiking, dining out with family and friends and spending time at the beach.

Watch President Barack Obama's message to US Service Members at Marine Corps Base, originally posted on official White House's YouTube channel: