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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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Posted on 07/13/2003 7:59:08 PM PDT by concentric circles
With mixed emotions, nearly 2,000 Marines returned home Saturday from a six-month tour of duty that included combat in Iraq.
While they were happy to rejoin their loved ones and proud of what they had accomplished, they were concerned about continuing sniper attacks and ambushes on U.S. forces that remain in Iraq to secure the peace.
"It's frustrating for us," said Gunnery Sgt. Charles Englert, a 19-year veteran of the Marines who also served in Afghanistan last year. "It kind of makes you want to go back."
Staff Sgt. Matthew Dorman, 26, a radio chief from Michigan, said the attacks were disheartening.
"We were out there trying to do some good, and now its getting so bad," he said.
The Marines returned aboard the USS Tarawa and USS Duluth, which anchored off the coast near Camp Pendleton. Throughout the day, the Marines were transported ashore in small boats and aircraft for emotional reunions with relieved relatives and friends.
A third ship, the USS Rushmore, was due to arrive in the next several days.
During seven weeks in Iraq, the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit helped secure Iraqi ports, hunt down enemy soldiers, protect resupply routes and provide drinking water to residents. Marines even broke into a bank to safeguard millions of dollars from looters.
"Maybe we left too soon," said Sgt. Renrick N. Lett III, 28, a satellite communications technician. "I definitely feel like we did our part. No matter what, we were only going to be there for a specific amount of time."
The expeditionary unit crossed into Iraq on March 21 and helped capture the port cities of Umm Qasr and Zubayr before replacing Task Force Tarawa in Nasiriyah.
The unit ran the gamut of military operations, from delivering food and rebuilding a school to raiding houses in the search for Baath Party leaders and Saddam Fedayeen gunmen.
The responsibility for combat missions in Nasiriyah now rests with the Army.
In sparse Marine camps, tiny gyms have appeared: beside a staircase in Diwaniyah; under camouflage netting by the river in Babylon; behind a building at Najaf.
The Marines use leftovers and ingenuity to create exercise equipment. They run with weapons for added weight and flex muscles using barbells fashioned from machine parts...
WARRIORS' WELCOME
San Diego Union-Tribune, July 13,2003
By Michael Burge and David Hasemyer
Marine Capt. Jay Whalen stepped out of a CH-46 helicopter yesterday onto the familiar turf of Camp Pendleton for the first time in six months, hugged his wife and two sons, reached into his uniform pocket and pulled out a green ball.
He held it up to show his 5-year-old son, Noah, who had given it to his dad before he left for Iraq and war. Noah had named it the "green goblin ball."
"He said: 'It will help get rid of the bad guys. You got to take it, Daddy,' "...
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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It is in the breaking news sidebar! |
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Yes, we have "The Dog" that keeps our soldier safe, it's a small stuffed dog with a necklaces that has our names written on a grain of rice (for luck) attached to "The dogs" neck for every one of us. This "dog" has seen more foreign countries than most people will see in their lives, lol. His designated home is my husbands TA-50.
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