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thedrifter
05-21-08, 05:03 AM
Long wait ends for 2/8, families

Battalion returns home following tour in Iraq
May 20, 2008 - 12:31AM
AMANDA HICKEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Lillianna Buckley met her father for the first time Monday.

It just took longer than expected.

Lance Cpl. Andrew Buckley was one of about 300 Marines and sailors who returned Monday from Iraq with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force. Another 700 are expected to arrive throughout the week.

Families and loved ones waited for the homecoming scheduled at around 2:30 p.m., 3:30 at the latest. Most of the troops didn't step off the bus until after 5.

"(The deployment) was long and hard," Morgan Buckley, LCpl. Buckley's wife, said while waiting for the buses to arrive. "I don't even have words to say. ... I can't wait for him to hold (Lillianna)."

Shannon Jones was one of the first to see her Marine, 2nd Lt. Joseph Larkin, get off the bus.

"(We're) probably going to go sit on the beach, talk and do some much needed catching up," Jones said.

To be back at Camp Lejeune, Larkin said, was great.

"This is the best feeling in my life right now," he said.

Chelsea Chipoltti, 19, and Cheyenne Sellers, 19, drove from Florida to welcome Chipoltti's brother, Addison, back from deployment.

"He's my brother and I missed him," Chelsea Chipoltti said. "Oh my gosh I'm so excited. He's like my best friend."

Sarah Auge, 22, and her husband, Lance Cpl. Charles Auge, got married in August and had about nine days together before the deployment began.

"(The deployment) sucked. It's a long time, not a lot of communication. You worry about them a lot. It's just hard," she said.

While her husband was gone, she got their apartment ready for him.

"We're going to show him his new home," she said. Also on the plan was dinner with friends and family, and a bit of drinking, she said.

Donna Lopez drove from Virginia Beach to welcome her son, Lance Lopez, 23, home from his second deployment.

The second time, she said, was no easier than the first.

"(The worst part is) just not having him where I can call him whenever I want to, not knowing what he's doing. I don't read the newspaper, I don't watch the news," Donna Lopez said.

The best part, she said, was easy.

"Just having him back in the country and safe," she said.



Contact Jacksonville/Onslow County reporter Amanda Hickey at ahickey@freedomenc.com or 910-219-8463. Visit www.jdnews.com to comment on this report.

Ellie