The Navy said the sign was their idea. I have no reason to think they lied about that.
The invasion of Iraq was an incredible operation that ought to be studied, especially in light of the fact a major part had to be improvised when Turkey denied landing rights to the 4th I.D., which was to have been the northern prong of a pincers. The ground forces accomplished their mission despite that.
The troops should have been honored for what they did but instead got years defeatist garbage from the libs and msm.
The Navy says what the White House tells them to say...believe me, I'm retired from "the Navy" and distinctly recall the goal of NVA/VC body count quotas the DaNang brass (Navy/Marine) was supposed given to report back to LBJ's White House during the McNamara years for the media to digest!