Marines sent to help hunt bin Laden return from war

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- More than 2,000 Marines sent last fall to hunt down terrorists linked to the Sept. 11 attacks returned to American shores Thursday, storming in on the beach in the finest tradition of the Corps.

During the deployment, the Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit seized the Kandahar airport, reopened the U.S. embassy in Kabul, searched caves and helped build a prison for enemy prisoners. It was the longest distance over land a Marine amphibious force had ever traveled.

"People who say American kids aren't tough haven't seen these guys," said Lt. Col. Jerome Lynes, battalion commander of the MEU's infantry battalion.

Most of the Marines, fittingly, returned by crashing the base's Onslow Beach in landing craft from their ships -- the USS Bataan and the USS Whidbey Island. They were then brought to their barracks aboard buses.

Families and girlfriends with welcome signs and American flags waited anxiously as the buses pulled up.

"It was like winning a million dollars," said a tearful Lisa Hart, wife of Sgt. Derek Hart, after their first hug. "We're going to go home and lock the doors, make food and watch movies. I'm going to pamper him. Whatever he wants, he gets."

Sgt. Justin Baker of Holland, N.Y., huddled with wife Amy and 2-year-old daughter Alexis to look in wonder at 2-month-old Jordin. The baby girl was born while Baker was in Afghanistan.

"I can't explain it," Baker said after picking up the baby for the first time. "The feeling was amazing."

Cadelyn Leibhart, 6, and her brother Colten, 4, squealed with delight when their father, Hospitalman Paul Leibhart, gave them a doll and a stuffed bull bought on a stopover in Spain.

"Your life doesn't seem the same when you're not with your family," Leibhart said. "There's just a big void."

Aircraft attached to the unit flew 1,231 combat sorties, including the first combat for AV-8B Harrier jets since the Gulf War.

The Marine supply troops operated three forward bases to refuel aircraft between the Arabian Sea, where the unit's ships were stationed, and the areas of operation. The MEU is designed to be self-sustaining for 15 days ashore, but supported 3,500 coalition troops in Kandahar for nearly two months.

Lynes' troops lived around the airport perimeter for weeks in holes dug in the dirt with corrugated metal for a roof and few, if any, sanitary facilities. Most ate only plastic-wrapped MREs -- meals ready to eat.

"They were cold. They were miserable. They stank," Lynes said. "But they stayed Marines."