Like presidents before him, future commander in chief Barack Obama visited with the troops on Christmas Day.

Obama shook hands, posed for pictures and signed autographs for more than an hour yesterday with Marines and sailors stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe.

The Marines of the 3rd Regiment have seen some of the toughest fighting in both Iraq and Afghanistan, including the battle for Fallujah in 2004.

On Sunday, 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Thomas Reilly Jr. of Lexington, Ky., died in an ambush in Anbar province, Iraq. Reilly was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, in Kaneohe on New Year's Eve last year.

“;Hey,”; Obama said as he walked into the mess hall a little after 4 p.m. wearing a short-sleeved blue shirt and green slacks. “;Just wanted to say hi.”;

Obama lingered a few minutes at each table as the Marines and sailors and their families stood to greet him. Christmas dinner last night included roast beef, turkey, candied sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping, mashed potatoes and simmered corn and broccoli.

“;What part of Indiana?”; he asked one person. To another: “;This is the East Coast table, huh?”;

Most of the Marines and sailors who eat at Anderson Hall on the base are single and away from home. But family members also were present last night.

One woman brought an ilima lei for Obama but decided not to give it to him after talking to an aide.

Lance Cpl. Chris Buish said Marines on base heard a few days ago that Obama might be coming.

“;We're all excited,”; he said. Buish's unit is deploying to Iraq this spring.

Civilian cook Linh Tran voted for Obama and was happy to see him yesterday. “;All the food I prepared for him,”; he said.

Megan Lyons, the wife of a service member, waited outside the mess hall with a large camera for a glimpse of Obama.

“;He waved at us,”; she said.

Obama, wife Michelle and their two young daughters opened presents earlier in the day and planned their own dinner of turkey and ham, according to aides. They were joined by longtime Chicago friends Marty Nesbitt, a businessman who was treasurer of Obama's Democratic presidential campaign, and physician and friend Eric Whitaker, as well as their families.

The Obamas have a natural Christmas tree in their rented Kailua vacation home, said spokesman Ben LaBolt.

For the first time since he began his vacation here Saturday, Obama skipped his morning workout at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii Semper Fit gym.