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thedrifter
05-27-03, 06:48 PM
Johnny comes marching home

By Richard Tomkins
From the Washington Politics & Policy Desk
Published 5/26/2003 7:43 PM
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CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., May 25 (UPI) -- It started with worried murmurs of anticipation. It ended with tearful murmurs of joy. And in between was the eruption of sustained cheering from hundreds of cold, tired men, women and children who had milled around for hours in the basketball court of 62 Area Barracks to meet loved ones.

Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, was home from war. Iraq was now a memory and a service ribbon, no longer a reality of danger, tedium and dust.

"All I want to do is see him," said Anita Hedrick, who was meeting her son, Joseph.

"All I want to do is give him a big hug," Pat Ross said of Joshua, a private first class with the company.

Bravo Company was one of the first two American units to punch into southern Iraq at the start of the ground war on March 20. It captured a gas and oil separation plant in the al Ramallah oil fields, pushed north and captured the vital Saddam Hussein Canal Bridge and fought a pitched battle after entering East Baghdad weeks and hundreds of miles later.

In between, its 180 men liberated village after village and helped free children from a prison, some of them incarcerated for refusing to join the militia of dictator Saddam Hussein.

It fed hungry villagers and helped stop looting at a hospital on the outskirts of the capital.

"It's a great day to be a Marine," one of them had yelled crossing into Iraq from Kuwait at night, as artillery shells screamed overhead and bright orange explosions from dropped bombs lit the distant, inky black horizon.

The company's casualty toll during the war: just four wounded seriously enough to be medevaced from the grounds of al Azimiyah Palace in east Baghdad in a middle of a firefight. Nearly a dozen others were treated for less serious wounds and rushed back into the fray.

Call it luck or Divine Providence. Either way, it was a miracle. Virtually every armored vehicle in which the Marines entered Baghdad was hit by rocket propelled grenades. More than 100 RPGs were fired at them as they held the palace against extremist gunmen firing automatic weapons from alleyways and windows and balconies from buildings nearby.

At the Saddam Hussein Canal, 120-mm enemy mortars exploded just yards away from units, yet the men escaped unhurt as they cleared out Iraqi resistance, opening the way from an armored column's push into the Iraqi heartland.

"Welcome Home Troops," a sign outside a motel in Oceanside, near the main gate to Camp Pendleton, said Sunday. ""Job Well Done!"

Saturday evening and well into Sunday, similar signs and banners were hanging from the balconies of barracks surrounding the basketball court in 62 Area, in a part of the base known as Camp San Mateo.

"1/5 No Jive. Welcome Home," said one. "Outstanding Y'all," said another.

"Welcome Home, Daddy," said a third. "We are proud of you."

The sentiments –- in general and in particular for specific Marines -– hung from every available space. Hand-held signs and banners replicated them everywhere.



"When Johnny comes marching home again,


"Hurrah! Hurrah!


"We'll give him a hearty welcome then,


"Hurrah! Hurrah!


"The men will cheer, the boys will shout


"The ladies will all turn out


"And we'll all feel gay


"When Johnny comes marching home."



The song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" dates to the American Civil War. The reality of its lyrics have not diminished with time.

Hundreds of families turned out for the return of Bravo and other companies of the 1st Battalion on Saturday and Sunday. Throughout the week, Marine wives belonging to an organizational network called "Key Wives" telephoned and e-mailed across the country. Word was in, they said. The boys were coming home.

Original arrival times kept changing, but people drove to the base anyway, many after having flown or driven from other communities across the nation.

Weapons Company was first in, at 10 p.m. Bravo followed at 2 a.m., and Alpha at 4:30 a.m. Fox and Charlie were to follow, hours later and hours late.

Families at the court kept their spirits up talking with old friends and new, sharing thoughts, worries and hopes.

They also sought out the journalists who had embedded with their sons during the conflict, asking for their pictures –- even autographs –- and telling them how their reports helped them track their loved ones and often ease their worries.

It was a humbling experience for the reporters who had been welcomed by the Marines. The Pentagon's experiment in embedding reporters with specific units not only was a success from the news standpoint, it paid the added dividend f helping families keep abreast of their loved ones' whereabouts.

The point was driven home by the dozens of e-mail messages from families of Marines the reporters found upon their return home. It was underlined in the meetings at Camp Pendleton as mothers and wives hugged us, and fathers, sons and brothers pumped hands.

Children in the court, meanwhile, slept on blankets mothers had brought along, or chowed down on hot dogs and popcorn the Key Wives and advance party Marines, who had arrived a week earlier, had provided.

When not dozing, they played with red-white-and-blue balloons.

"What are you going to say to daddy?" Natalie Cox asked her 2-year-old daughter, Zoe, around midnight. "Love," child murmured sleepily. "Love."

Staff Sgt. Sean Cox was one of three Bravo Company Marines to have had a child born while he was away. Stephanie was wrapped warmly in a blanket in a carrier, happily sucking on a bottle Saturday night and Sunday morning, not comprehending that she was to meet her dad for the first time.

And what a meeting it was. Sgt. Cox couldn't stop cradling her, juggling the baby Zoe and his pack, while hugging the other two loves of his life.

Cpl. James Lill found his wife sitting in the family vehicle nearby. With the baby due in less than two weeks, she wasn't physically up to standing in the chill.

In addition to the food for waiting families, there were also cases of goodies for them and returning Marines: toiletry packs, Girl Scout cookies, baby blankets and the like.

The goods had been donated by various businesses.

"The stuff just started flowing in once word got out the guys were coming home," said Christy Jenks, wife of Gunnery Sgt. Ron "My-first-name-is-Gunny" Jenks, the company logistician. "I couldn't believe it. We had 24 rooms, floor to ceiling with donated stuff."

One donation, however, did cause the key wives some embarrassment.

"I could see me being pulled over in the car by the police and having to explain 1,400 condoms!" Christy Jenks said.

The three-man rooms in the barracks had been outfitted with new Bravo 1/5 monogrammed towels, and cases of soda pop were placed in them.

The Marines landed at March Air Base from Europe, where their planes were refueled. Upon landing, they were taken by bus to Camp Pendleton. Their arrival was heralded by the sounding of horns and sirens and the flashing of lights from military police vehicles lining the road on the approach to the basketball court at 62 Area. Reunion was not immediate. The buses proceeded to an out-of-the-way armory for depositing of weapons.

About 40 minutes later, the tired Marines marched up a hill and out of the covering darkness into the light.

The explosion of cheering was deafening.



"Let love and friendship on that day,


"Hurrah! Hurrah!


"Their choicest treasures then display,


"Hurrah! Hurrah!


"And let each one perform some part


"To fill with joy the warrior's heart,


"And we'll all feel gay


"When Johnny comes marching home."


In the crush, some families who decided to surprise their Marines had to hunt them down back in the barracks. Marines without their own families present still received hugs from families of their comrades, but there were sad looks in their eyes, no matter how much bonhomie there was.

"Rick, where can we get a ride into town and back?" asked two Marines on their own. "There's still time to get some beer to bring back."

The Marines had left Camp Pendleton in early February. Now they'll be given leave before entering a new cycle of training. The war against terrorism continues, and they may be needed again.

Meanwhile, a previously scheduled deployment to Okinawa has been put back to December. It's welcome news to the Marines and their families.

Prior to departing the LSA (life support area) in Kuwait for the return home, each Marine was required to attend a class on readjusting to life and relationships after a long absence and after having been in combat. Families at home were also offered advice.

Ongoing assistance will be available for those with readjustment difficulties.

"Our men and families are used to frequent deployments, so we usually don't have a lot of problems," Maj. Cal Worth, executive officer of the battalion, told United Press International. "But after Afghanistan, we're keeping a close eye on things."

continued..........

thedrifter
05-27-03, 06:50 PM
Following the Afghanistan conflict, there were a number of domestic killings at the Army's Fort Bragg by returning servicemen. The Marines intend to stay proactive to guard against any such problems among their families.

Postscript: Two special people were on hand to welcome back the men of Bravo 1/5: Navy Corpsman Percy Davila and F-18 pilot Shawn Basco. Davila was wounded in the battle for al Azimiyah Palace in Baghdad and is recovering from burns and shrapnel wounds to his arms. Basco, who acted as a forward air controller, suffered a shrapnel wound to his ankle in the same battle. He no longer has any feeling in his right foot, but doctors say he'll be flying again in no time.

Chad Shevlin, an infantryman, was not present. He's still in the hospital recovering from severe wounds to his face, but his prognosis for a full recovery is good.

Copyright © 2001-2003 United Press International



http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030525-073233-9760r



Sempers,

Roger