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thedrifter
03-06-09, 06:21 AM
Joyful welcome as Marines come home to West Palm Beach

By KATHLEEN CHAPMAN

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Lois Frankel has been a Vietnam war protester, a liberal state legislator and now, mayor of West Palm Beach.

But Thursday afternoon, she was just another proud military mom, welcoming her son and about 30 other Marines from the 4th ANGLICO Division home from Iraq.

Her son, Marine Capt. Ben Lubin, 31, spent about six months working with the Iraqi army and police in Al Anbar province. He previously served in Afghanistan and finishes his eight-year commitment to the Marines this spring. That means that Frankel can finally exhale.

"I am very emotional," she said. "I always said this would be the happiest day of my life."

The Marines' trip home was long - from Kuwait to Germany, Ireland, Maine, North Carolina and then finally to suburban West Palm Beach. Their bus pulled up to ANGLICO headquarters off Belvedere Road on Thursday evening to cheers and applause.

Cpl. Christopher Gutierrez, 28, of Miami couldn't wait to see his 22-month-old son, Christopher Jr. When he left, the boy had just learned to say "Papi."

Thursday, he was giving high fives and "talking up a storm," Gutierrez said.

Cpl. Matteo Finazzo of West Palm Beach was looking forward to taking his sheepdog, Einstein, to the park, and dressing him in the new camouflage-patterned dog collar he bought at Camp LeJeune.

Finazzo, 23, also hoped to see some water along with the sand, and maybe get some sun.

In Iraq, you don't tan, he said: "We're wearing tan, but we're not getting tan."

Ben Lubin's father, criminal defense attorney Richard Lubin, said he and his family have been counting down the days to his return.

"We're just so excited we can hardly stand it," he said.

Frankel joined anti-war protests when she was an undergraduate at Boston University, and said that "in those days, there was a disrespect for the military because of the Vietnam War."

She was surprised when Ben told her he was going to be a Marine.

"I remember the day my son was born. And captain of the Marines never entered my mind, but you know, I'm as proud as any parent could be," Frankel said.

Lubin graduated from training just after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, as the country was headed to war.

Frankel said that seeing the courage of her son and the other Marines who risked their lives "gave me an appreciation for the military that I just never really had."

Now, she said, she better understands the sacrifices made by service members and their families, many of whom are still waiting for their relatives to come home.

"My respect is now for everyone who ever served," Frankel said.

Ellie