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wrbones
05-19-03, 12:21 PM
http://www.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,208~12588~1400625,00.html


Second Wave Of Marines Arrive in High Desert
Families helped each other track Iraq war
By RICK McLAUGHLIN, Staff Writer

TWENTYNINE PALMS - While local Marines set combat speed records in their dash to Baghdad, loved ones at home followed the war on television and bit their nails from worry.

"The worst part was not having information, so not to miss anything, I became glued to the TV more than I should have,' said Janet Nelson of South Borough, Mass.

She and other family members traveled to the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center here Sunday to welcome home her son, Cpl. Chad Nelson, one of hundreds of Marines who arrived at the base over the weekend.

Like many of his comrades home from Iraq, Chad Nelson was telling war stories Sunday.

He and the rest of the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Regiment were the lead units in the drive north through Iraq by the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

The regiment was ambushed March 23 by 150 to 300 Iraqi Republican Guard soldiers, he said.

The firefight was intense, but lasted only about half an hour, he said.

"We stopped in our tracks and fought, inflicting a lot of casualties,' he said.

His younger brothers, who also came to the base to welcome him home, were wide-eyed and beaming as he told his story.

"They (Iraqis) really weren't very good,' he said, "and this was supposed to be some of the best.'

The returning Marines began arriving at the base by bus Saturday. They had landed at March Air Reserve Base near Riverside.

Several hundred Marines arrived Sunday and more will arrive in greater numbers in the next few weeks, officials said. Marines are also returning to Camp Pendleton.

Also greeting Chad Nelson were his father, Richard Nelson; his two brothers, Taylor, 14, and Travis, 12; and girlfriend Leeann Culbertson, a Navy corpsman at the base.

The Nelsons said they also checked a Web site for a Canadian Newspaper, the National Post, which had a reporter embedded with Chad Nelson's unit.

"All the coverage 24-7 was wonderful because it was better to know than not to know,' Janet Nelson said. One fear the family felt was the threat of biological and chemical weapons.

"Sometimes I held my breath when there was news of casualties,' Janet Nelson said.

Of course, the coverage was sometimes too much for the boys.

"I wouldn't let them watch some of their favorite programs because I was glued to the set.'

The boys weren't nearly as worried.

"I knew he was going to come home OK,' Taylor said.

Doc and Margie Taylor of Great Plains, Mo., who also traveled to the base, said their son, Lance Cpl. Michael Taylor, was in the same ambush as Chad Nelson.

"We were glued to the (television) set 24 hours a day,' Margie Taylor said. "Now, we've come out to Twentynine Palms for this.'

Michael Taylor's wife, Nicole, was eager to greet her warrior husband. She and his parents were in constant contact, relaying and sharing news several times a week.

His father said, "I'm so proud, I must have told everyone in Missouri about this.'

Some wives at the base networked to provide each other with an information cooperative while volunteering for family support efforts.

Deanna Simpson, wife of Gunnery Sgt. Joe Simpson of the same regiment, lives at the base and holds a civil-service job there.

She also watched television for news of her husband's unit.

"I followed it religiously,' she said. "The other wives and I kept ourselves informed. I was very impressed with the coverage. We kept scrapbooks of articles, including the National Post of Canada paper, and made television news videos of the 3rd.'

"The other wives here at the base made it easier.'

It was her husband's third conflict. He also served in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and in Bosnia.

He took part in the March 23 firefight with others of the regiment.

"We came under attack by about 150 to 300 Iraqi soldiers, tanks and artillery. We were surrounded on the left and right side of the road, but they were very disorganized and couldn't fight in the dark,' he said. "We inflicted a lot of casualties a whole lot.'