Marines prepare to return to N.C.

starnewsonline.com ^ | Apr 26, 2003 | starnewsonline.com

[Dubya]

24th MEU coming home to Lejeune

CAMP PATRIOT, KUWAIT - Marines returning from Iraq washed their vehicles and cleaned their weapons Friday as they prepared to return home, the first U.S. ground unit ordered to ship out from the Persian Gulf.

Servicemen and women of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit are to set sail for Camp Lejeune in North Carolina in about a week, said spokesman Capt. Dan McSweeney. The trip on board USS Nassau, USS Austin and USS Tortuga will take about a month.

"They kind of took care of us because we have been out for so long," said Sgt. Herb Lane, 30, of Lima, Ohio. The unit has been deployed for eight months, including about a month in central Iraq. He said he can’t wait to take a vacation and spend "a lot of time" with his three children.

"The goal is to have us home for Memorial Day weekend," he said.

Lance Corp. Blaine Toulouse was sweeping powder-like desert sand from a bulldozer. He said it was tense going through Iraqi towns in the first days of the war knowing "you could get shot at any second." However, he said he felt relieved when people started "cheering and clapping" for coalition forces.

The 24-year-old from Sudbury, Ontario, said he was looking forward to seeing his boy who was born in his absence and to driving his Mustang. "Just being there will be great," he said, broom in hand.

Marines, assisted by Navy personnel, were hosing down and disinfecting every carton, shell and piece of heavy machinery before it was loaded on hovercrafts that will take the materials to the ships anchored in the Persian Gulf. When they set sail from this port south of Kuwait City, they will carry some 2,500 Marines who took part in the war.

Kuwait became a major ally of Washington after the 1991 Gulf War that liberated it from a seven-month Iraqi occupation, and it was the launch pad last month for U.S. and British troops invading Iraq.

Corp. Johnny Moore said he "did security" duty in different places in central Iraq. Although "it was a small part in a big picture," it "feels good to be part of the whole situation," said the native of Oak Ridge, Tenn.

The worst part of the deployment was the "sand storms and the unknown," he said. Now it was over, he and his fiance will start planning their July wedding – twice postponed because of the deployment.

"I’ll be home and I love you," was the 23-year-old Marine’s message for his fiancee.

[Dubya]

[Howlin]

I want to be there to welcome them home!!!!

[Dubya]

Me too. I may just go down there. I came back fron overseas to Camp Lejeune. We landed in Norfolk and convoyed to Lejeune.

[Howlin]

Do you think they will come into Morehead? That's where they left from!

Just think -- we could line the streets!

[Howlin]

Big time storm.......back later for more discussion!

[Dubya]

I don't know. Hope we can keep up with this and maybe do just as you have said. I will bring my Marine flag. And a FR sign.

[Dubya]

OK THANKS.

[Dubya]

Marine Hymn VOCAL
TURN UP YOUR SOUND FOR THOSE UNITED STATES MARINES

[The KG9 Kid]

The 24th MEU didn't lose a single Marine in the war.

Not one.

Semper Fi!

[Dubya]

Great news.
Praise the Lord.

[Dubya]

OOH-RAH!

[Dubya]

[Dubya]

CAMP FENWAY, IRAQ(April 24, 2002)

-- The Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), while participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom, established their base camp for operations in a patch of dirt in Central Iraq. The area was an unused oilfield which at one time served as farm land. The Marines named their camp after Fenway Park, a major league baseball park in Boston.

The Marines of the 24th MEU (SOC) came into Iraq on a float that was extended indefinitely. Due to the nature of their mission the Marines did not know when they would get to leave Iraq to return to the United States.

[SAMWolf]

Good News and a job well done Bump!

[Dubya]

Thanks SAMWolf. Thanks to you for your work here on FR.

[Dubya]

OOOPS Here is the rest of the story.

During the time the MEU was at Fenway, many events converged to create lasting impressions about the base camp and about Iraq in general. Some of these are described below.

Upon arriving at Camp Fenway, the main body of the Command Element was greeted by the sound of a chemical attack siren. The Marines quickly donned their gas masks. After doing so, some froze while others continued to dig the survivability positions that they had already begun. All was silence in the camp except for the clinking of entrenching tools until the 'all clear' was given.

Some weeks later, Lieutenant General Earl B. Hailston, Commanding General, Marine Forces Central Command, paid a visit to the Marines of the MEU at the camp. During a brief speech he gave to the troops, he called out "OORAH!" His call was answered by enthusiastic Marines, who showed even greater energy and motivation moments later as the General's speech was interrupted by the call of, "White Star Cluster!" by a Marine at an observation post. The Marines quickly grabbed their gear and weapons and ran to their fighting positions where they waited for either combat or the sounding of 'all clear'. The Marines returned to their duties when an "all clear" was given.

After several weeks of operating in Iraq, the MEU received orders to redeploy to Amphibious Ready Group shipping for movement back to the U.S. At that point, the suspense of not knowing how long they would be in Iraq was lifted. Finally, the Marines began to get some idea of when they would be leaving. They went directly from being at Fenway indefinitely to being told they would be leaving in a couple of days.

Shortly thereafter, tents began to come down and Marines began packing up to return to their ships - and to showers and hot chow.

Though the 24th MEU (SOC) was not the first to arrive in Iraq, by the time they had arrived, they had already been away from home longer than any other unit in country. For this they received the distinction of being the first to leave Iraq.

[LibKill]

Alright!

Break out the Barbecue and Beer! Welcome home heroes.

[Dubya]

I will bring some Texas Bar BQ with me. :^)

[The_Media_never_lie]

Do you suppose we could keep each other informed on the Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA)? (and place of arrival)

[edwin hubble]

I have memories of Camp Lejune from the Korean War years. We were quartered that when my dad was away.

Isn't Andy Griffith from near there (Wilmington?).