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thedrifter
03-14-07, 07:16 AM
Brothers see end of mission coming

BY JOHN MASSON, DET. FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Created: 3/14/2007 12:27:25 AM
Updated: 3/14/2007 12:31:33 AM

Selfridge battalion can decamp Iraq

Detroit - For the families of about 700 Michigan Marines, there's finally a little daylight peeking into a long, dark tunnel of anxiety as their sons, brothers, boyfriends and husbands near the end of their seven-month deployment to Iraq.

So a gathering of about 80 people with ties to the Selfridge Air National Guard-based headquarters company of the 1st Battalion of the 24th Marines - a group chronicled by the Free Press' Band of Brothers series - might have been slightly more festive because they were getting the news they'd longed to hear.

"Sometime in April, they'll be back," said Maj. Shannon Wiley, who brought the families up to date on battalion news after lunch at Zuccaro Banquets and Catering in Chesterfield Township, which donated its facility for the event.

"But for now, they've still got the same dangers and risks every day."

Plans already are under way to bring the Marines' loved ones together again March 31 at Selfridge for a reunion seminar. Experts will explain transitional health care, mental health issues, civilian workplace issues, veterans benefits and other issues affecting the Marines and their families.

There was even talk of a homecoming party, funded in part by the sale of 1/24 T-shirts with the battalion's distinctive Terror from the North logo on the front. The unit's Web site, www.mfr.usmc.mil/4thmardi...ar/1stBn/, should be updated sometime this week with more information.

When Wiley opened the floor for questions, World War II veteran John Walentowski got to the real purpose of the gathering.

"I just want to thank all our young people for what they're doing for us," Walentowski said, his voice breaking.

His grandson, Lance Cpl. Chad Finkenbiner, is a member of 1/24. "I just want to let them know that I'll be praying for them all."

Contact JOHN MASSON at 586-469-4904 or masson@freepress.com.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Follow the Band of Brothers

More than 900 Marines from Michigian are members of the 1st Battalion of the 24th Marine Regiment - Michigan's Band of Brothers - who are currently stationed in Iraq. The Free Press is documenting the journey of these men, their families and the impact of their service.

Coverage began with video and stories of training in the California desert in the summer sun. Journalists David P. Gilkey and Joe Swickard followed the group to Iraq in late 2006, living among them as they conducted military operations in Anbar province. The battalion remains on duty in Iraq today.

Other Free Press journalists, John Masson, Stephen McGee and Brian Kaufman, as well as others across the newsroom, are part of the effort to tell the stories.

This last trip to Iraq was the eighth time Gilkey has reported from Iraq. Go to www.freep.com/video to see his award-winning photos and video from earlier assignments.

Web Editor: John Bumgardner, Assignment Desk


Ellie