Not all the residents at Brookdale Senior Living in Oceanside have family who can visit for the holidays.
Same goes for some of the Marines stationed just 15 minutes away at Camp Pendleton.
So the two groups decided to celebrate Christmas Eve together.
“If we wear this uniform, we’re family,” said Jorin Hollenbeak, a Camp Pendleton Marine who works as an engagement officer.
More than half a dozen Marines gathered Sunday morning with at least 20 Brookdale residents — several of them veterans of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines — to swap military and life stories across generations. Multiple veterans there had served in the Korean or Vietnam wars.
This is the first time Camp Pendleton has held this holiday event, Hollenbeak said. He worked with the director of Brookdale Oceanside, where his wife works as a caregiver, to organize the party within a matter of days.
1st Lt. Jorin Hollenbeak, center, and other Marines from Camp Pendleton visit veterans and residents at Brookdale Assisted Living Facility in Oceanside on Sunday. Beau Evans, who served in the Marines in the Korean War, right, looks on.
(K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The veterans and active-duty Marines shared stories not only of their careers, but of their siblings, children and spouses, why they joined the military, and how the Marines’ dress code requirements had changed over the years.
Veteran Bill Travers said it was nice to see the Marines visit Brookdale because even though he served in the Navy for six years, he had long admired the Marines’ especially tight-knit sense of camaraderie.
“Those guys are the best,” he said, smiling.
Hollenbeak said he enjoyed swapping stories with resident Lydia Cosme, a Marine veteran who had worked at the same base he did — North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune. They talked about how the base has changed since Cosme worked there six decades ago in administrative services.
“It’s nice to hear them telling us about their lives and us telling them about our lives,” Cosme said.
1st Lt. Jorin Hollenbeak, left, talks with Lydia Cosme and Glenda Guza.
(K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Stephanie Cervantes, who works in communication strategy at Camp Pendleton, said she joined the event Sunday because she also doesn’t have family around for the holidays; they live in Texas.
“I feel like they just wanted someone to talk to,” she said.
Marines and Brookdale residents passed around cookies and hot chocolate in a cozy meeting room with Christmas music playing on the speakers. The Marines wore their dress uniform, walking in shiny black shoes with caps in hand, while a few veterans sported their own veteran caps or holiday sweaters and garland necklaces.
Hollenbeak said he plans to do it again next year.
“It’s been super neat. It’s very heartwarming,” he said.
