INTO WELCOMING ARMS 180 MARINES RETURN FROM IRAQ WITHOUT CASUALTIES.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE - Cheering and weeping wives, mothers, fathers, children, brothers, sisters and grandparents welcomed more than 180 Marines back Thursday from Iraq.

Half reservists and half regulars, the men and women of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 764 filed down the stairs of a chartered jetliner to the cheers of hundreds of relatives and friends, back home safe after seven months without a casualty.

``So glad,'' said Cpl. Tony Negron, kissing his wife Janette with his M-16 rifle and backpack still slung over his shoulder.

Lance Cpl. Mario Corona held his 5-year-old son Khalel in his arms among the crowd in the squadron's hangar. The boy rubbed his father's cheeks and looked into his eyes.

``Every day he'd ask for his dad: When is he coming? He's counting the dates. He had to start kindergarten without his daddy,'' mom Tania Corona said.

Mom held 10-month-old Karisia, who was 3 months old when her father left in March.

``She has to get to know me,'' Mario Corona said.

Flying Vietnam War-era twin-rotor CH-46 helicopters, the squadron was stationed about 130 miles west of Baghdad along the Euphrates River in a former Iraqi air base named Al-Assad, the same place it stayed when the squadron spent seven months in Iraq in 2004.

At the base, the squadron was hit by rocket attacks, causing minor damage to some equipment, but no personnel were wounded. The squadrons' helicopters carried Marines on raids and flew people and supplies around the country, avoiding Iraq's dangerous roads.

``Not as bad as I expected,'' said Sgt. Jayson Ballantine, home to wife Laura and three children ages 3 to 12. ``There were guys out there who had it a whole lot worse than we did. It could have been a whole lot worse.''

The squadron also carried suspected insurgents captured in raids. Armed Marines guarded the prisoners, but they caused no trouble.

``Most of them are very docile. Most of them have never been in an aircraft, let alone a helicopter. I'm sure they were terrified by their experience,'' said Lt. Col. Drew Crane, a helicopter pilot who in civilian life flew airliners.

The Marines' relatives were relieved to have them home safely. If current policies remain, the reservists won't be going back on active duty for several years, because they are to serve no more than two years out of five. Most were called up two years ago and this was their second tour in Iraq.

``If you have a family member out there, anything can happen,'' said Carmen Zarate of Fontana, waiting to greet her 23-year-old brother, Victor, a hydraulics mechanic.

Jennie Sinclair of San Diego held a small yellow hand-lettered sign reading ``Proud Marine Mom.''

Sinclair is not only a Marine mother but a Navy wife. Her 20-year-old son, Nick, is a lance corporal with the squadron. Her husband is a Navy warrant officer, due home in January from Iraq.

``They come home three months apart. It's different when it's your son who's serving,'' Sinclair said. ``With your son, it's a whole different ball game.''

Four-year-old McKenna Kerr waited with her older sisters, mother and aunt for the return of her father, Gunnery Sgt. Jeffrey Kerr, from his sixth overseas deployment.

``She's been saying her daddy's been cleaning the big desert over there,'' said aunt Diana Rocha.

Susan Townsend flew in from Colorado to greet her husband, Daniel, the squadron's sergeant major, with her son and three grandchildren.

A reservist who works for a Colorado tobacco distributor in civilian life, Daniel Townsend has two more years to serve to complete 30 years in the Marines. This was his third deployment in Iraq: He served with a infantry regiment during Desert Storm and on 764's 2004 deployment.

``I'll be happy when it's January and he's home for good,'' Susan Townsend said.

Charles F. Bostwick, [phone]

chuck.bostwick(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

5 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Marine Sgt. Jayson Ballantine kisses his wife, Laura, upon his return Thursday from a seven-month deployment in Iraq.

(2 -- color) Cpl. Christian Olivos embraces his wife, Sandra, and daughter Brianna, 4.

(3) Marine Cpl. Tony Negron is greeted by his wife, Janette, upon his return from Iraq on Thursday at Edwards Air Force Base.

(4) Returning Marines are enfolded in the embrace of their loved ones. The Medium Helicopter Squadron 764 suffered no casualties during its seven-month deployment in Iraq.

(5) Michael Santana, 2, sits atop the shoulders of his grandfather Gilbert Amis as the boy awaits the arrival of his uncle, Sgt. Gil Amis, who had been serving in Iraq for the past seven months.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer