thedrifter
09-17-05, 06:58 AM
Returning Marines performed heroically
September 17,2005
BY CHRIS MAZZOLINI View stories by reporter
DAILY NEWS STAFF
There's few things that can bring a Marine Corps staff sergeant to tears. Seeing his infant son for the first time is one of them.
Six-month old Cole Hanson was born while his dad, Staff Sgt. Timothy Hanson, was deployed to Iraq with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines. So although Hanson has seen pictures of his son, he's had to fight through seven months of fierce combat to hold him.
"We got a present for him," said Hanson's wife, Michaelynn, as she hoisted Cole, who was decked out in a hat, shirt and shoes dappled in stars and stripes.
Cole wasn't the only one wearing his patriotic finest. A crowd of families and friends of the roughly 900 Marines from 3/2 waited in a parking lot Friday at Camp Lejeune, waving flags and hanging welcome-home signs from the upper-story railings of the unit's barracks.
Nervousness was a common feeling.
"I have butterflies in my stomach," said Kristin Ceppaluni, girlfriend of Lance Cpl. Kyle Mergner. She joined Mergner's family for the trip down to Jacksonville from Jackson, N.J. "I'm really excited. I'm really nervous."
Ceppaluni smiled.
"I'm really happy."
While loved ones experience frazzled nerves throughout he duration of a deployment, it's much the same for returning Marines, who, in this case, had to endure a slow bus ride back to Lejeune from Cherry Point - then a trip to the armory - before reuniting with parents, wives, girlfriends and kids.
"You come home with a lot of good anxiety â?¦," said Maj. John Reed, 3/2's executive officer, who returned home with an advance party on Sept. 1. "During the deployment, you rely on your buddies, the Marines to your left and right, and it's important to keep in touch with them through the reunion process.
"But there's nothing better than to come home and get hugs from loved ones."
The battalion spent its deployment in Iraq's Al Anbar province near the border of Syria, a war-torn area rife with foreign fighters. They fought in many nationally recognized operations - such as operations Matador, Spear and Quick Strike - to route out insurgents.
Three from the battalion were killed in action, said 2nd Lt. Barry Edwards, a spokesman for the 2nd Marine Division.
"The combat operations fought by 3/2 were violent, more so than stability and support operations," said Reed. "3/2 was in all-out combat, and that occurred the entire time. These Marines performed heroically, and they are coming home to a hero's welcome."
That welcome came when the buses finally arrived and a cheer erupted from the crowd. The Marines filed off and marched through a throng of clapping people. They lined up at attention one last time, and then were dismissed into the waiting arms of their families.
And Hanson finally got to hold his son. Shaking and fighting back tears, he could barely put into words how happy he was to see his wife and son.
"It's unbelievable," Hanson said. "It's all you live for. No matter what you do over there, this is what matters."
Contact staff writer Chris Mazzolini at cmazzolini@freedomenc.com or at 353-1171, Ext. 229.
Ellie
September 17,2005
BY CHRIS MAZZOLINI View stories by reporter
DAILY NEWS STAFF
There's few things that can bring a Marine Corps staff sergeant to tears. Seeing his infant son for the first time is one of them.
Six-month old Cole Hanson was born while his dad, Staff Sgt. Timothy Hanson, was deployed to Iraq with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines. So although Hanson has seen pictures of his son, he's had to fight through seven months of fierce combat to hold him.
"We got a present for him," said Hanson's wife, Michaelynn, as she hoisted Cole, who was decked out in a hat, shirt and shoes dappled in stars and stripes.
Cole wasn't the only one wearing his patriotic finest. A crowd of families and friends of the roughly 900 Marines from 3/2 waited in a parking lot Friday at Camp Lejeune, waving flags and hanging welcome-home signs from the upper-story railings of the unit's barracks.
Nervousness was a common feeling.
"I have butterflies in my stomach," said Kristin Ceppaluni, girlfriend of Lance Cpl. Kyle Mergner. She joined Mergner's family for the trip down to Jacksonville from Jackson, N.J. "I'm really excited. I'm really nervous."
Ceppaluni smiled.
"I'm really happy."
While loved ones experience frazzled nerves throughout he duration of a deployment, it's much the same for returning Marines, who, in this case, had to endure a slow bus ride back to Lejeune from Cherry Point - then a trip to the armory - before reuniting with parents, wives, girlfriends and kids.
"You come home with a lot of good anxiety â?¦," said Maj. John Reed, 3/2's executive officer, who returned home with an advance party on Sept. 1. "During the deployment, you rely on your buddies, the Marines to your left and right, and it's important to keep in touch with them through the reunion process.
"But there's nothing better than to come home and get hugs from loved ones."
The battalion spent its deployment in Iraq's Al Anbar province near the border of Syria, a war-torn area rife with foreign fighters. They fought in many nationally recognized operations - such as operations Matador, Spear and Quick Strike - to route out insurgents.
Three from the battalion were killed in action, said 2nd Lt. Barry Edwards, a spokesman for the 2nd Marine Division.
"The combat operations fought by 3/2 were violent, more so than stability and support operations," said Reed. "3/2 was in all-out combat, and that occurred the entire time. These Marines performed heroically, and they are coming home to a hero's welcome."
That welcome came when the buses finally arrived and a cheer erupted from the crowd. The Marines filed off and marched through a throng of clapping people. They lined up at attention one last time, and then were dismissed into the waiting arms of their families.
And Hanson finally got to hold his son. Shaking and fighting back tears, he could barely put into words how happy he was to see his wife and son.
"It's unbelievable," Hanson said. "It's all you live for. No matter what you do over there, this is what matters."
Contact staff writer Chris Mazzolini at cmazzolini@freedomenc.com or at 353-1171, Ext. 229.
Ellie