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Couple dines at White House
Photo
Elaine Brye, of Winona, right, was asked to attend Wednesday’s White House state dinner by First Lady Michelle Obama. Brye sent the first lady a letter in December thanking her for her support of military families. Brye’s four children are service members.
Salem
Less than a week ago, Elaine Brye dined with the president and first lady and was serenaded by Mumford & Sons and John Legend.
“It was absolutely incredible, like being Cinderella,” said Brye, 56, of Winona, which is south of Salem.
Brye and her husband, Courtney Brye, 64, attended the White House state dinner Wednesday in honor of the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, David Cameron.
“I sat kitty-corner from [actor] George Clooney and [first lady] Michelle Obama,” Elaine said.
A White House spokesman said the Bryes were seated at the head table near the first lady.
Guests were treated to crisped halibut with potato crust on a bed of braised baby kale from the White House garden and a main course of Bison Wellington, according to the White House.
The Bryes, whose four children all serve in the military, were invited to the dinner after Elaine Brye wrote a letter in December to the first lady and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, thanking them for Joining Forces, a comprehensive national initiative to mobilize support for service members and their families.
“I sent out a Christmas letter and said I really appreciated what they were doing for military families because they sacrifice a lot. I never heard anything more about it. I didn’t expect any type of response,” she said.
A few weeks ago, Elaine said she returned home from a trip and found a hand-addressed letter to her from the White House in her stack of mail. It was the state dinner invitation.
“I thought it was a joke at first,” she said.
When Elaine realized the invitation was real, she called her children, Capt. Eric Brye, a Marine Corps pilot; Lt. Jordan Brye, a Navy pilot; 1st Lt. Katrina Moon, a nuclear-missile engineer; and Brendan Brye, an Army ROTC cadet at the University of North Dakota.
“We never dreamed they would each go in that direction, and we’re totally proud of them. The three who are active, they’re getting ready to deploy again,” Elaine said.
Elaine volunteers as an online forum moderator for military families and tries to help them “adjust to what life is like as a military parent.”
“There’s no safe harbor [when children are deployed], and as a mom, you do everything you can to keep your child safe, and all of sudden, you lose control and they’re out there. I just try to reach out to fellow parents to help them through that,” she said.
Elaine said she felt the state dinner invitation in a way represented thanks to all military families.
“I was struck by how respectful and caring so many of the people were [at the dinner] and the number of times they thanked us for our kids’ service,” Elaine said.