Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment returns from Iraq
CAMP SAN MATEO ---- Families waited several hours Saturday for the return of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment to Camp Pendleton after a seven-month deployment in Iraq.
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/08/06//news/top_stories/22_22_448_5_06.txt
By: PAUL SISSON - Staff Writer
Though several companies of the battalion were due to arrive at 6 p.m. Saturday, they did not arrive until about 10 p.m. after landing at 6:45 p.m. at March Air Reserve Base near Riverside.
The 3/5, as it's known in military shorthand, has seen its share of controversy recently with charges pending against eight members of the battalion's Kilo company related to the shooting death of a civilian in Hamdania, Iraq.
While the charges against those Marines has made headlines throughout the nation, it was not mentioned at Saturday's homecoming. Reporters were barred from asking Marines or their families about the incident, which was the furthest thing from the minds of most who simply came to see their loved ones return from war unharmed.
A large gathering came to wait for Sgt. Jeff Hendry. Wearing red and blue matching T-shirts emblazoned with the Marine Corps insignia and "thank you for serving," the Hendry family waited hours for the 22-year-old sergeant to return from his first tour of duty in Iraq.
Blair Hendry brought along a sign so that her husband could easily find his way to her side.
"He told me, 'when I get home, I'm going to need a sign that says "JJ, I'm right here," ' so I made one," she said.
Families came from across the nation to Camp Pendleton on Saturday, part of a never-ending migration keyed to the base's constant cycle of deployments and homecomings.
Rachel Kline came from Colorado to see her husband, Sgt. Christopher Kline. It was her husband's third deployment to Iraq, where he served as a scout.
"The year and four months we've been married, I've seen him for four months of it," Kline said.
Jay Frank flew cross country to be on hand when his brother, Cpl. Joshua Frank, arrived home from his third deployment. A current member of the U.S. Air Force, Frank said his brother had driven over three improvised explosive devices while in Iraq.
"Hopefully those three roadside bombs he ran over, hopefully they rang his bell enough not to re-enlist," Frank said.
Roger and DeeDee Hodges waited for their son, Cpl. Jarred Hodges, to return. They came all the way from Bradleyville Mo., a small town just south of Springfield.
DeeDee Hodges said she was not too sure exactly what her son did while he was in Iraq on his first deployment.
"He don't tell me nothing. He don't want me to worry," she said.
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