In addition to trying to visit military families at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery during a lightning storm this Memorial Day, Pres. Obama and the First Lady crashed a picnic at Fisher House outside of Chicago, which is sort of the Ronald McDonald House for the services.

Because members of the military and their families are stationed worldwide and must often travel great distances for specialized medical care, Fisher House™ Foundation donates “comfort homes,” built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. These homes enable family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful times – during the hospitalization for an unexpected illness, disease, or injury.

There is at least one Fisher House™ at every major military medical center to assist families in need and to ensure that they are provided with the comforts of home in a supportive environment.

The facilities provide other assistance, including donated airline miles, gift cards, and scholarships. Fisher House has another distinction.

…when President Obama announced that he would give his $1.4 million Nobel Peace Prize money to 10 charities, Fisher House was the single largest recipient.

Fisher House saves families money during long hospital stays. More importantly, it offers them a ready-made support group. People who have already been in residence at Fisher House for months help newcomers navigate the military and hospital bureaucracies — and offer them someone to talk to who understands what they’re going through…

Michelle Obama, who champions military families, brought Fisher House to the president’s attention.

Obama’s first trip home in 18 months came at a price, with FOX News inciting its followers to see his decision to observe Memorial Day outside of Washington — where the vice president called Obama’s selecting him to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier “the greatest honor of my public life” — as a snub to the troops. Most people saw through this tactic.

Jay Agg, a spokesman for the veterans group AMVETS, said the annual ceremony at Arlington is “the ideal place for the president to observe Memorial Day. However, his choice to honor our fallen at another national cemetery as other presidents have done is entirely appropriate.”

In an e-mail, Agg accused some people of using the day “as an opportunity to score cheap political points on the backs of our veterans and in doing so dishonor them and distract from the true meaning and purpose of Memorial Day.”