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CNN Live Today
Marines Return Home After Tour in Afghanistan
Aired April 18, 2002 - 10:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: USS Bataan is one of the ships that is returning from deployment in "Operation Enduring Freedom," and with that return of that ship, hundreds of sailors and Marines who were stationed on board. We have team coverage at Camp Lejeune for the homecoming. CNN's Jeanne Meserve is with the families, but we are going to start first with Martin Savidge, who is near the landing site -- hi, Marty.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Leon. Beautiful day here. We have got blue skies and wall to wall smiles on the part of the soldiers -- the Marines I should say, excuse me, and also the family members. They are coming ashore, starting landing on the beaches here about an hour ago, and this is a landing that will continue all day. There are roughly 2,300 Marines that are part of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. 1,400 of them expected to pass through this beach. Every single one of them very glad now to be back on U.S. soil after spending seven months in combat operations over in Afghanistan. They were among the first U.S. troops to be deployed after September 11. They were coming in by LCACs, or high-speed Landing Craft Air Cushion, relatively new development, piece of hardware for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marines, gets them into shore much faster, allows them to carry heavier payloads, but most of all, it allows them to bring those Marines back to families that wait for them.
A lot of significant developments, things that the Marine 26th Expeditionary Unit should be very proud of. The seizure of the Kandahar airport, strategically important to the war in Afghanistan, the first major air base for coalition forces, the establishment and building of the detainment facility, and also helping to reopen the U.S. embassy in Kabul. So, they have a lot to be proud of, but right now they're not thinking about what they did, they are thinking about what lies ahead, and that is mainly the waiting arms of loved ones and family members. So, Leon, this is going to be a day of big, broad smiles and very big hugs -- Leon.
HARRIS: No doubt. Marty, I have to ask you this. As much time as you spent over there in Afghanistan, have you seen any of the guys that you recognize from your time over there?
SAVIDGE: Yes, I have. You know, I talk about reunion for family members. Obviously, it's not on the same sentimental sort of scale, but it was very good. There are a lot of people that I spent a great deal of time under difficult conditions with, with the Marines there. I was glad to be there, very glad to be home, and most of all, I am glad to see that all of them, and I stress all of them, from the 26th MEU did come home safe and sound. So right here on the beach, a few reunions of my own.
Thank you, Leon.
HARRIS: Yes, there you go. Back in the sand again.
SAVIDGE: You know what the funny thing is, I asked -- when I was done with the extended period in Afghanistan, I wanted to go somewhere with a beach. Look where I ended up -- Camp Lejeune.
HARRIS: Sometimes you get what you ask for, Marty.
SAVIDGE: Exactly right.
HARRIS: ... so much, Marty Savidge.
All right, let's go over now to our Jeanne Meserve, who has been with the families all morning. We have been watching some really wonderful and warm scenes throughout the morning -- Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Leon, I'm upset. He got a beach, I got a parking lot. I don't think I got the right end of the deal here. You can see here some of the families who are arrayed out by the road here. They are waiting for some sight of the buses that will bring the Marines to this point, one of several reunion sites that have been set up around the base. If you were watching last hour, I talked to a grandmother. Today I have a son, one of the younger people that I have seen here today.
Christopher Post (ph), how are you, Chris?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Good.
MESERVE: Excited to see your Dad?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes, I am.
MESERVE: He's been away for seven months. Has it been really tough?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes, it is.
MESERVE: Has he missed a lot stuff, like birthdays and holidays?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes.
MESERVE: What was the very toughest thing about having him away?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Him missing my birthday.
MESERVE: Really? You have a little something that you bought for him. Can you show us what that is? Tell me what it is.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It's something that -- that has the word "Love" on it.
MESERVE: And let me see what it says. "An angel of love for you to wear to show how much I really care." I bet you are going to say "I love you" to him today, aren't you?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes.
MESERVE: And with Christopher here is his grandmother. This is Beverly Post (ph) here from Wisconsin.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I am.
MESERVE: Now, you told me that your son has been deployed several times before to the Persian Gulf, to Kosovo, which was the scariest deployment?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This one was the scariest deployment.
MESERVE: Tell me why.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It came on so suddenly, and because of the terrorists, and a lot more unknowns than we had before. That's about it.
MESERVE: Is he expecting you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, he is not expecting me, and he is not expecting the people who brought me down here.
MESERVE: And it has been two years since you've seen him?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Almost two years.
MESERVE: Wow. Bet you have got a lot to say.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes.
MESERVE: Your principal thought now that he's back in the U.S.?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm glad he is safe, and I hope he doesn't have to go anywhere again, or any other of our military have to go anywhere else again.
MESERVE: Beverly Post (ph), thanks so much. So that's a sampling of the kind of emotion and feeling we have got here today. People have been crying, even though their -- their sons and loved ones may be hours away. They just can't contain all that they feel at a moment like this. Back to you, Leon.
HARRIS: Jeanne, let me ask you real quickly. What kind of things have these people been telling you when you ask them things -- when you ask them what's the first thing they are going to do when their loved one arrives? Or what they are going to do when they leave there (ph).
MESERVE: Most of them -- well, most of them say that they may not have total access right away. The guys who are coming back are going to be tied up doing some cleaning up of gear and so forth for a couple of days. Many of them have said to me, we are going to wait and see. We want them to call the shots. They're the ones who have been away. They are the ones who have an agenda. So, we are going to wait and find out exactly what they want. Of course, other people are saying, party, party, party. A lot of that in store -- Leon.
HARRIS: No doubt. No doubt at all. Jeanne Meserve, there in the parking lot in Lejeune, North Carolina. We'll get back with you later on. Stay cool out there.
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