`FINALLY HOME' MARINES WELCOMED BACK FROM IRAQ.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. - With their loved ones loved ones npl → seres mpl queridos loved ones npl → proches mpl et amis chers loved ones love npl holding up banners and balloons, 120 Marines were welcomed home Monday after a 7-month tour in Iraq. After seven months at Al Asad in the northwest portion of Iraq, members of the Marine helicopter unit HMM-764 stepped out of a chartered jetliner to the cheers, hugs, kisses and tears of family members, who carried signs reading ``Finally Home,'' ``Welcome Back Marines'' and, in one case, simply ``Dad.'' ``The only time my hands shook this whole time was when I was getting off the plane,'' said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Peter Zorba, an Acton resident who was greeted by his wife, Molly, his 2-year-old daughter, Leia, and his parents. ``The best part is right here,'' he said, holding his daughter. Molly Zorba, who wore a T-shirt that read ``I love my Marine,'' said it had been a tough time while her husband had been away, but frequent e-mails and weekly telephone calls helped bridge the distance. To help Leia, Molly had a photo of her husband in his helicopter printed up on a nightshirt. She also had a photo of him by Leia's bed. ``She kissed it every night,'' Molly Zorba said. ``She's happy to have him back.'' Sgt. Brittania Kreig, an avionics avionics (ā'vēŏn`ĭks), electronic instruments used in air or space flight; also the design and production of such instruments. Early planes had few instruments, but as aviation and aircraft became more complex, so did instrumentation. chief who resides in Lancaster, was greeted by her mother, Donna. ``The anticipation of her coming home was worse than giving birth,'' Donna Kreig said. Brittania Kreig said the first order of business was a hot shower. After that, she said, she needed time to relax. ``I'm just going to spend some time hanging out,'' Brittania Kreig said. Cpl. Benny Zamora, a hydraulic mechanic from Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , was greeted by his wife, Lupe, his 5-year-old daughter Kristal, and his 5-month-old daughter Dafne, whom he met for the very first time Monday. ``It's pretty good feeling to meet the new part of the family,'' Zamora said. ``It was hard to hide the tears.'' It had been a difficult time to have her husband away, Lupe said, but e-mails helped out quite a bit. ``It (e-mail) is priceless price·less adj. 1. Of inestimable worth; invaluable. 2. Highly amusing, absurd, or odd: a priceless remark. ,'' Lupe Zamora said. ``It was like he was home, but he wasn't home.'' For Kirstal, it has been a frustrating frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: time, Lupe said. ``She doesn't want him to leave again.'' The journey home was a long one, covering more than 36 hours of travel time. The journey started with a convoy convoy Vessels sailing under the protection of an armed escort. Since the 17th century, neutral powers have claimed the right of convoy in wartime, providing warships to escort their merchantmen and keep them secure from search or seizure. ride into Kuwait and then an airplane trip to Ireland, to New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and finally to Edwards. For the family of Staff Sgt. John Walker, an ordinance chief, there was a six-hour drive left to go to get to their home in Yuma, Ariz. Walker was greeted by his wife, Amy, and their two daughters, Jenysis, 3, and Amber-Rose, 2. ``This (his homecoming Homecoming Odyssey concerning Odysseus’s difficulties in getting home after war. [Gk. Myth.: Odyssey] You Can’t Go Home Again revisiting his home town, a writer is disillusioned by what he sees. [Am. Lit. ) was all we've talked about for two weeks,'' Amy Walker said. ``They just want to hold him.'' The Marines are conducting tours of seven months at a time. It is expected that the unit will return to the Middle East in April, said Lt. Col. Drew Crane. An advance detail of 32 Marines from a second Marine helicopter squadron that had been in Afghanistan arrived Friday. The remainder of HMH-769 will return from Afghanistan in mid-October. Jim Skeen, (661) 267-5743 james.skeen(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 4 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Water cannons water cannon n. A truck-mounted apparatus that fires water at high pressure, used especially to disperse crowds or control rioters. water cannon Noun greet Marines at Edwards Air Force Base on Monday as a helicopter squad returns from Iraq. (2 -- color) Christoph Naviaux gives his father, Lt. Col. Jacques Naviaux, a hug after the Marine's return from seven months stationed in Iraq. (3 -- color) Down the stairway stairway or staircase Series or flight of steps that provides a means of moving from one level to another. The earliest stairways seem to have been built with walls on both sides, as in Egyptian pylons dating from the 2nd millennium BC. come members of the HMM-764 Marine helicopter unit Monday at Edwards Air Force Base. (4 -- ran in AV edition only) Mgr. Rick Jarlowe, a member of the HMM-764 helicopter squad, embraces his wife Rebeca at Edwards Air Force Base on Monday. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
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