Veterans Day and Military Family Stays Near Camp Lejeune

Veterans Day 2026 falls on Wednesday, November 11, and Jacksonville's Veterans Day Parade is the Saturday before, November 7. If your family is coming to the Camp Lejeune area to thank a veteran, or for a retirement, homecoming, promotion, or graduation, what you want most is simple: to be together.

I'm Dipen, your host at Topsail Paradise, a house for up to 22 overnight guests in North Topsail Beach, in Onslow County, the same county as Camp Lejeune. Our street is named for a Camp Lejeune Marine, and Veterans Day week (Nov 6 to 15) was still open when we posted this. Below are the events nearby, the best dates, and why one big house works for military milestones.

Veterans Day 2026 near Camp Lejeune, on a street named for a Marine

Veterans Day honors everyone who has served in the U.S. armed forces (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs). This year it falls on Wednesday, November 11. If your family has a veteran to thank, a Marine or Sailor who can get away, or grandparents who served, it's a good week to bring everyone together under one roof.

A memorial on our own street. Topsail Paradise sits on Gunnery Sergeant D.W. Boatman Drive, named for a Camp Lejeune Marine who died in 2005 of wounds received in Iraq. The Town of North Topsail Beach has honored him with a memorial ceremony around Veterans Day. We haven't found a 2026 listing yet, so check with the Town of North Topsail Beach (910-328-1349) for this year's details. Veterans Day thanks all who served, and this ceremony remembers one Marine who didn't come home. If you're here that week, we hope you'll take a quiet moment to remember him. You can read more about him below and on our About page.

Jacksonville, NC Veterans Day parade and events, Nov 1 to 11, 2026

Jacksonville hosts Veterans Tribute NC from November 1 to 11, 2026. Here's what the organizers have posted for this year:

Date (2026)	Event	Where	Good to know
Nov 1 to 11	Veterans Walk of Honor	Lejeune Memorial Gardens, 109 Montford Landing Rd, Jacksonville	Signs honoring local veterans, among the Beirut, Montford Point Marine, and Vietnam Veterans memorials
Fri, Nov 6, 9:30 AM	Freedom Fountain Observance	895 New Bridge St, Jacksonville	Hosted by the Onslow Civic Affairs Committee
Fri, Nov 6, evening	Red, White & Salute	Jacksonville Commons	Free evening with live music, food trucks, and fireworks. Check the start time before you go
Sat, Nov 7, 10 AM	Veterans Day Parade	Western Blvd, from Coastal Carolina Community College to Liberty Dr	Free to watch. Hosted by Rolling Thunder Inc. Chapter NC-5
Sat and Sun, Nov 7 and 8	Onslow Veterans Pow Wow	American Legion Fairgrounds, 146 Broadhurst Rd, Jacksonville	Free and open to the public: Native dance, drumming, food, and a Grand Entry
Wed, Nov 11, 11 AM	DAV Veterans Day Observance	300 Sherwood Rd, Jacksonville	Hosted by Disabled American Veterans

Right next to Lejeune Memorial Gardens, the new Carolina Museum of the Marine tells the story of Carolina Marines and Sailors. Times can change, so check the organizers' pages before you head out.

Best dates for a Veterans Day weekend at the beach (Nov 6 to 15)

Since Veterans Day lands on a Wednesday, these stays work well, and all meet our 3-night minimum:

• Friday, Nov 6 to Monday, Nov 9. Arrive for Red, White & Salute Friday night, then the parade and the Pow Wow that weekend.
• Saturday, Nov 7 to Wednesday, Nov 11. Catch the parade Saturday morning and the Pow Wow that weekend, then check out by 10 AM Wednesday and head to the 11 AM observance in Jacksonville.
• Wednesday, Nov 11 to Sunday, Nov 15. Spend Veterans Day morning in Jacksonville, check in at 4 PM, and enjoy a quieter long weekend at the beach together.

November is quiet and mild here, and the heated pool and 2 hot tubs make it feel like a real beach week. Here's what the heated pool is like in November.

A Marine's retirement after more than 25 years, with the whole family under one roof

A guest reached out to us about her husband, a Marine retiring after more than 25 years of service. Their family was coming in for his retirement, and she told us they loved the property and wanted everyone to stay together for such a meaningful weekend. She also promised they would take great care of the home.

After the ceremony, she shared two photos with us. One shows the open hangar door, a huge American flag, and aircraft on the flight line. The other is the one at the top of this post: a lone Marine in dress uniform, in silhouette, standing under that flag. We're so grateful they chose to celebrate with us.

Camp Lejeune family lodging for up to 22: a house instead of hotel rooms

If your Marine or Sailor has a military ID, the on-base options are good ones: Inns of the Corps and Onslow Beach (Onslow Beach stays are limited to 7 days, and both need an authorized military or DoD ID). Hotels near base work well for one or two people. For a family of 15 or 20, including grandparents and siblings without military IDs, it usually means several rooms on different floors and meals in shifts. Here is what our house offers instead:

• Room for everyone. Up to 22 overnight guests in 8 bedrooms and 6.5 baths (see how 22 guests sleep in our floor plan).
• A full kitchen and two charcoal grills, so the family can cook breakfast before the ceremony and dinner together that night.
• A private pool, with free heat from October 1 to May 15. The heater is self-serve, so there's nothing to request; weather and wind affect the water temperature, and it's not spa-hot.
• 2 hot tubs for unwinding after a long day in dress shoes.
• An optional golf cart for beach runs, a $300-per-stay add-on that's free for military families booking direct. We're about a two-block walk to the beach, and the cart makes it easy with chairs, coolers, and little ones.
• A Level 2 EV charger for anyone who drove in electric.

Topsail Paradise is for overnight guests only. We don't allow events, parties, receptions, or outside guests. The ceremony belongs on base. The house is where your family stays together.

Where to stay for a Camp Lejeune retirement ceremony

A retirement often brings in parents, grown kids, and grandkids from several states. Keeping the whole family under one roof for the weekend, like the stay above, means one breakfast table on ceremony morning and one place to celebrate that night.

Where to stay for a homecoming

Parents, siblings, and kids can wait in one place while the unit comes home, then spend time together once your Marine or Sailor is back. Homecoming dates can move, so a night of cushion on either side helps. Coming home near the holidays? See our Topsail Island Christmas guide.

Graduations at Camp Lejeune and Camp Geiger

For trainings that graduate at Camp Lejeune, including Camp Geiger, grandparents and siblings can share one house instead of several rooms. Check the graduation date and visitor rules with your Marine's unit before you book.

Promotions and PCS reunions

Family who flew in for a pinning can stay together instead of scattered across town. For a PCS, relatives can visit before or after the move, or a family between houses can have a week together.

Gunnery Sergeant D.W. Boatman Drive: named for a Camp Lejeune Marine

Topsail Paradise sits at 204 Gunnery Sergeant D.W. Boatman Drive. The Town of North Topsail Beach renamed this street, once called Marine Drive, to honor Gunnery Sergeant Darrell W. Boatman, and the town has held memorial ceremonies in his honor around Veterans Day.

Gunnery Sergeant Boatman served 20 years in the Marine Corps as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician. While serving with the 8th Engineer Support Battalion out of Camp Lejeune, he was wounded near Habbaniyah, Iraq, and died of his wounds on November 4, 2005. He received the Purple Heart and rests at Arlington National Cemetery. You can read more on the EOD Warrior Foundation memorial page.

We think about his name every time we write our address. It's one of the reasons military families feel so at home here, and one of the reasons we want to say thank you. More about him, and our thank-you to military families, is on our About page.

Our military thank-you: a free golf cart when you book direct

As a small thank-you for your service and your family's sacrifice, active-duty, veteran, and military families get the golf cart free ($300 value) when booking direct at topsailparadise.com. To claim it, mention your service in your inquiry before you book, and we'll confirm the free cart with you. Booking direct also saves you 15% compared with the big listing sites.

The cart makes beach runs easy for grandparents and little ones. You can read how the golf cart works, including free beach parking for the cart with house tags.

Camp Lejeune visitor passes and other planning tips

A few tips, including some from official base and Marine family resources:

1. Book as soon as you have a date. Retirement, promotion, and graduation dates are set by the unit, and houses big enough for 20 or more are limited.
2. Pad your dates for homecomings. Homecoming dates can move, sometimes with little notice. Many families add a night or two on either side, and they keep their travel plans flexible.
3. Know the minimum stay. Stays from October through April have a 3-night minimum, which lines up well with a Friday-to-Monday ceremony weekend. May through September stays are weekly, Saturday to Saturday.
4. Plan around check-in and checkout. Check-in is 4 PM and checkout is 10 AM. If your ceremony is on arrival day, plan to change at the house after check-in or come dressed and ready.
5. Sort out base passes early. Family members without a DoD ID need to be vetted before they come on base, and the base asks sponsors to submit requests at least seven days ahead. For ceremonies, the sponsoring Marine or unit can submit the guest list through Camp Lejeune's online system (IARA), and visitors then report to the Visitor Center. A REAL ID-compliant license is the preferred ID, and drivers also need vehicle registration and proof of insurance. Rules change, so follow your Marine's unit and the Camp Lejeune base access page, and leave extra time at the gate.
6. Leave pets with a sitter. We don't allow pets at Topsail Paradise.
7. Pool heat is self-serve. For October through mid-May stays, you turn the heater on yourself with the instructions in your guest guide, with no request needed. Weather affects the water temperature, and it's not spa-hot.

More answers about the house are on our FAQ page. If your crew likes to fish, my North Topsail fishing guide covers the pier, the 4x4 beach, and the best months. For everything else, see things to do in North Topsail Beach with a big group.

Bring the whole family together near Camp Lejeune

Whether you're coming for Veterans Day, marking a retirement after a long career, waiting on a homecoming, or watching a son or daughter pin on new rank, your family deserves a place where everyone can stay together. We'd be honored to have you.

Thank you for your service,
Dipen, your host at Topsail Paradise