thedrifter
05-19-03, 10:53 AM
Run Date: 05/18/2003
Marines return to cheers and tears
By Sue Book/Sun Journal Staff
CHERRY POINT -- Four groups of Harriers waved in four-plane formation -- one stopping in air and coming down in impressive hovering horizontal decent -- between 1:30 and 2 p.m. Saturday as five busses pulled up to a crowd of more than 500 happy, flag-waving greeters of the VMA-542 Marines and sailors coming home from the war.
The group that had been gathering since just after 11 a.m. around the hanger of the Fighting Tigers Squadron included the Marine Corps Second Air Wing commander Maj. Gen. John G. Castellaw.
The Second Marine Division Band played patriotic songs as the general and his wife mixed with the families and friends of the 230 veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
He appeared as eager and proud as anyone there to welcome his troops home from extensive participation in war preparation and execution since their deployment Jan. 13.
"They were spectacular," Castellaw said of the troops' efforts. "I'm quite proud of them. It is wonderful to get them back. They did a tremendous job.
"Our job was to have the people trained and ready to join the Third Marine Aircraft Wing," he said. "They were well trained and continue to train for whatever challenge comes up in the future."
The 16-plane Harrier squadron, led by Lt. Col. F.P. "Boris" Bottorff, flew 580 hours in March and 440 hours in April during day and night missions. Under his lead and assisted by Cmdr. "Woody" Woodmansi of VMA 223 and forward Cmdr. "Gangster" Parmirico of MAG 14, the squadrons' mission included both reconnaissance and strikes.
Bottorff's Harrier -- numbered 100 and stenciled with the USS Bataan aircraft carrier from which the squadron operated -- was first in two column lines formed as the pilots taxied to waiting families. With wife, Sheree, and sons, Connor, 9, and, Michael, 6, of New Bern just yards away, the 19-year pilot waited until all 16 could greet family together for the hellos, hugs and handshakes awaiting them.
He came down to handshakes from Gen. Castellaw and good friend Lt. Col. Chet Arnold, his command replacement in about two months.
There were no speeches.
"There are 15,000 Marines in the Second Air Wing and over 400 planes," Castellaw said. "During this period, over 7,000 people were deployed and over 200 airplanes" -- not all to the Iraqi operations.
Two Second Wing Marines, did not come home.
"We had two Marines killed in these operations, one in An Nasiriyah in Task Force Tarawa in a battle for bridges, and we lost one in an accident during fuel transfer when supports collapsed," said Castellaw, recalling Lance Cpl. Thomas A. Blair, a Cherry Point Marine, and Cpl. Armando A. Gonzalez, who had been stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C.
"We had about 14 injured, two in combat and the others as a result of related operations," he said. "We had no aircraft lost in combat."
One father, Vietnam veteran John Roberts, and his wife, Jane, traveled 2,082 miles from Bening, N.M., to welcome home Cpl. John Daniel Roberts, a Harrier electronics tech, who has been in the service for three years.
"I would have walked if I'd had to," said Roberts, who remembered a different public spirit when he returned. "He's my son, and he was over there defending us."
The excitement, then mild disappointment, of those waiting was obvious as the United 747 airplane loaded with troops landed, then taxied off to the Aerial Port of Embarkation. A wave of emotion came again when open-bed, white trucks loaded with sea bags pulled up and were not followed by busses of troops.
The crowd grew and a wait from a scheduled noon to 1 p.m. arrival became apparent. People were pacing, rocking on the balls of their feet, shifting weight and zeroing in cameras poised to photograph kids welcoming fathers and mothers.
One Marine, Sgt. Chris William's, whose work is with lifesaving chopper PADRE, waited with 16-month-old daughter, Karma, for wife and mom, Cpl. Jessica Williams. The Harrier mechanic had kept in touch via e-mail every day, but was coming home to a daughter 4 months older, with heightened verbal skills and decidedly more independence.
Gunny Sgt. Ronald Hodge also will see changes in his boys, Gray, 2, and Tyler, 7 months, said wife, Elizabeth Hodge of New Bern. He was home for his last son's birth, and then was deployed for recruiting duty and to Iraq.
Aurora Blochberger of New Bern, with sons Mike and Joseph, awaited the return of pilot Lt. Col. Sean Blochberger, whose No. 102 taxied in from his shortest of four deployments.
The crowd was a mix of most ethnic backgrounds. It included mothers with babies and babies on the way, and mothers whose babies were the ones coming home. All stood with roses, balloons, banners, posters or flags, and they dispersed quickly after a heart-felt reunion.
Castellaw said the Marines and sailors will have some time with their families over the next month, including a long weekend leave for Memorial Day, but they will be coming in for debriefing and regrouping next week as leaves are determined. Those activities and associated leaves will take VMA-542 about a month, he said. Then it should return to business as usual.
"It's not over, as we saw with the bombs in Saudi Arabia and Morocco. We will continue to be prepared. The war on terrorism continues, and so does our job," he said.
Sue Book can be reached at 638-8101 ext. 262 or at sue_book@link.freedom.com
Sempers,
Roger
Marines return to cheers and tears
By Sue Book/Sun Journal Staff
CHERRY POINT -- Four groups of Harriers waved in four-plane formation -- one stopping in air and coming down in impressive hovering horizontal decent -- between 1:30 and 2 p.m. Saturday as five busses pulled up to a crowd of more than 500 happy, flag-waving greeters of the VMA-542 Marines and sailors coming home from the war.
The group that had been gathering since just after 11 a.m. around the hanger of the Fighting Tigers Squadron included the Marine Corps Second Air Wing commander Maj. Gen. John G. Castellaw.
The Second Marine Division Band played patriotic songs as the general and his wife mixed with the families and friends of the 230 veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
He appeared as eager and proud as anyone there to welcome his troops home from extensive participation in war preparation and execution since their deployment Jan. 13.
"They were spectacular," Castellaw said of the troops' efforts. "I'm quite proud of them. It is wonderful to get them back. They did a tremendous job.
"Our job was to have the people trained and ready to join the Third Marine Aircraft Wing," he said. "They were well trained and continue to train for whatever challenge comes up in the future."
The 16-plane Harrier squadron, led by Lt. Col. F.P. "Boris" Bottorff, flew 580 hours in March and 440 hours in April during day and night missions. Under his lead and assisted by Cmdr. "Woody" Woodmansi of VMA 223 and forward Cmdr. "Gangster" Parmirico of MAG 14, the squadrons' mission included both reconnaissance and strikes.
Bottorff's Harrier -- numbered 100 and stenciled with the USS Bataan aircraft carrier from which the squadron operated -- was first in two column lines formed as the pilots taxied to waiting families. With wife, Sheree, and sons, Connor, 9, and, Michael, 6, of New Bern just yards away, the 19-year pilot waited until all 16 could greet family together for the hellos, hugs and handshakes awaiting them.
He came down to handshakes from Gen. Castellaw and good friend Lt. Col. Chet Arnold, his command replacement in about two months.
There were no speeches.
"There are 15,000 Marines in the Second Air Wing and over 400 planes," Castellaw said. "During this period, over 7,000 people were deployed and over 200 airplanes" -- not all to the Iraqi operations.
Two Second Wing Marines, did not come home.
"We had two Marines killed in these operations, one in An Nasiriyah in Task Force Tarawa in a battle for bridges, and we lost one in an accident during fuel transfer when supports collapsed," said Castellaw, recalling Lance Cpl. Thomas A. Blair, a Cherry Point Marine, and Cpl. Armando A. Gonzalez, who had been stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C.
"We had about 14 injured, two in combat and the others as a result of related operations," he said. "We had no aircraft lost in combat."
One father, Vietnam veteran John Roberts, and his wife, Jane, traveled 2,082 miles from Bening, N.M., to welcome home Cpl. John Daniel Roberts, a Harrier electronics tech, who has been in the service for three years.
"I would have walked if I'd had to," said Roberts, who remembered a different public spirit when he returned. "He's my son, and he was over there defending us."
The excitement, then mild disappointment, of those waiting was obvious as the United 747 airplane loaded with troops landed, then taxied off to the Aerial Port of Embarkation. A wave of emotion came again when open-bed, white trucks loaded with sea bags pulled up and were not followed by busses of troops.
The crowd grew and a wait from a scheduled noon to 1 p.m. arrival became apparent. People were pacing, rocking on the balls of their feet, shifting weight and zeroing in cameras poised to photograph kids welcoming fathers and mothers.
One Marine, Sgt. Chris William's, whose work is with lifesaving chopper PADRE, waited with 16-month-old daughter, Karma, for wife and mom, Cpl. Jessica Williams. The Harrier mechanic had kept in touch via e-mail every day, but was coming home to a daughter 4 months older, with heightened verbal skills and decidedly more independence.
Gunny Sgt. Ronald Hodge also will see changes in his boys, Gray, 2, and Tyler, 7 months, said wife, Elizabeth Hodge of New Bern. He was home for his last son's birth, and then was deployed for recruiting duty and to Iraq.
Aurora Blochberger of New Bern, with sons Mike and Joseph, awaited the return of pilot Lt. Col. Sean Blochberger, whose No. 102 taxied in from his shortest of four deployments.
The crowd was a mix of most ethnic backgrounds. It included mothers with babies and babies on the way, and mothers whose babies were the ones coming home. All stood with roses, balloons, banners, posters or flags, and they dispersed quickly after a heart-felt reunion.
Castellaw said the Marines and sailors will have some time with their families over the next month, including a long weekend leave for Memorial Day, but they will be coming in for debriefing and regrouping next week as leaves are determined. Those activities and associated leaves will take VMA-542 about a month, he said. Then it should return to business as usual.
"It's not over, as we saw with the bombs in Saudi Arabia and Morocco. We will continue to be prepared. The war on terrorism continues, and so does our job," he said.
Sue Book can be reached at 638-8101 ext. 262 or at sue_book@link.freedom.com
Sempers,
Roger