Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall has welcomed plenty of celebrities and honored countless heroes throughout its history, but it's probably safe to say that none received the welcome that America's favorite mouse did Sept. 13.
Gathered at Spates Community Center for the Blue Star Families and Disney's Books on Bases event, hundreds of kids and their parents broke into thunderous applause when Mickey Mouse peeked his head around a doorway and entered the room.
"Mickey," one young girl called out as she ran to give him a hug.
Books on Bases was created by Blue Star Families in 2009 as a way to positively impact military children and inspire a love of reading through the distribution of free books, said Blue Star Families Chief Executive Officer Kathy Roth-Douquet.
"Books on Bases is about helping our military children through the power of reading and assisting them in continuing to grow and learn through deployments, temporary family separations, PCSs [permanent change of station] and all the other unique hurdles they face," she explained.
Throughout this year, Disney is donating 30,000 books to the program.
"As we here at the joint base strive to better serve our military personnel and their families, this event is a natural extension of that mission, especially because it gives us the opportunity to empower our children through reading," said Col. Michael D. Henderson, joint base commander, who attended the event with his wife, Dr. Elizabeth Henderson, and their twin sons, Peter and Timothy, and baby daughter Grace.
"There is no greater gift than expanding our children's imaginations and promoting the learning process than through books and reading, and there is no greater investment in the future than empowering our children today," Henderson said.
Also on hand were Command Sgt. Maj. Randall E. Woods and his wife, Lea. Dawn Therrien brought her two young children to the event as a way to stay connected to the military community while her husband is on a yearlong deployment.
"Bringing the girls here to meet other military families and to spend time in the community is very important," she said. "Seeing the colonel speak, seeing another man in uniform, was important for my girls."
Jessica Moore, Disney representative, said her company's support of Books on Bases is part of its long history of respect and appreciation for the nation's armed forces.
"This is a way to honor them," she said.
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