Marine battalion heads to North Carolina; will meet with Cheney
For a few months, some of them were part of Lucky Lima, the nickname given to an Ohio-based Marine unit that had left for Iraq in January and, for a time, had not suffered any casualties or injuries.
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By NATALIE GOTT
Associated Press Writer
For a few months, some of them were part of Lucky Lima, the nickname given to an Ohio-based Marine unit that had left for Iraq in January and, for a time, had not suffered any casualties or injuries.
But by the end of their deployment, the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines had lost 48 servicemen, including nine from the battalion's Lima Company in the deadliest roadside bombing of U.S. troops in Iraq.
The battalion, made up of about 1,000 reservists, is returning to the United States now. A large group of the Marines was set to arrive at Camp Lejeune on Friday. Vice President Dick Cheney plans to join them at the base Monday for a luncheon, the White House announced Friday.
The battalion left for Iraq in January. In March and April, two of the battalion's companies lost three members in as many attacks.
In May, the battalion lost five more reservists in small arms fires and a roadside explosion. Lima Company lost its first Marine, Cpl. Dustin A. Derga, 24, in a May 8 attack.
More losses came throughout June and July, with a deadly roadside bomb that took three reservists June 9, indirect enemy fire that killed two July 10 and grenade fire that killed two on July 28.
August proved to the be the deadliest month for the battalion, particularly the once-lucky Lima Company.
Enemy fire killed five members of the battalion on Aug. 1. Two days later, nine of the Lima reservists were among 14 Marines killed in a roadside bombing.
Overall, 16 Lima Company reservists died in Iraq, and about two dozen were injured, Master Sgt. Stephen Walter said.
Thirteen other permanent members of the battalion were killed. A Navy corpsman and 18 other Marines who were temporarily attached to the group also died.
Of the 48 that were killed, half were from Ohio.
The Marines will spend about five days at Camp Lejeune before they return to their home bases in Ohio, West Virginia and New York for more public festivities. The Marines Corps urged families not to travel to North Carolina because of the debriefing.