450 reservists return from Iraq

DEVENS -- When 450 Marine reservists marched onto a grassy field yesterday morning, not a smile could be seen in the shoulder-to-shoulder formation of veterans who had just survived seven months in one of Iraq's most dangerous places.

But in a surging, curving line of loved ones who nearly encircled them, no such stoicism was seen. The boisterous crowd cheered, yelped, whooped, and shouted 450 names at the First Battalion, 25th Marines.

And when the order to "Fall out!" was given, the Marines, finally home from the insurgent cauldron of Fallujah, fell into the long, clenching embraces of tearful spouses, parents, and siblings.

Corporal Leonardo Jorge of Methuen, his arms cradling a 4-month-old son he was seeing for the first time, gently kissed the baby's head, over and over, as his wife, Teresa, pressed her head against the Marine's back. "He's beautiful," said Jorge, 27. "I've dreamed of this day every day for seven months."

All across the field, the scene was repeated for the Devens-based battalion, whose reservists from New England enjoyed one of the region's largest homecomings of the war.

"This is the best," said Lance Corporal Vladimir Xavier, 24, of Dorchester. With a smile that stretched across his face, he caressed his 11-month-old niece, Aliane. "I'm glad to be back with my family."

The giddy celebration, however, was tinged with sadness for 11 members of the battalion who were killed in action. For the Marines, death was a daily worry in Fallujah.

Four of the dead Marines were from New England: Corporal Paul King, 23, of Tyngsborough; Lance Corporal Eric P. Valdepenas, 21, of Seekonk; Lance Corporal Kurt E. Dechen, 24, of Springfield, Vt.; and Corporal Jordan C. Pierson, 21, of Milford, Conn.

The casualties also included Sergeant Matthew J. Fenton, 24, a New Jersey native who worked full time for the battalion at its Devens headquarters. On April 26, while manning the turret gun on an armored vehicle, Fenton was wounded when a roadside bomb exploded. With his family at his bedside, he died May 5 at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland.

Staff Sergeant Jonas Delira, who supervised Fenton's work as a property-account manager at Devens, recalled him as "one of the best Marines that I ever had work under me."

"He was motivated. He was always there to carry out the mission," Delira said. "It's hard when you lose a Marine, but it's harder when you lose one of your own. . . . That really affected the office, but as a Marine, we're prepared to deal with things like that."

Photographs and remembrances of the 11 fatalities -- 10 Marines and a Navy corpsman assigned to the battalion -- were placed on wooden stakes in the ground, lined carefully in a row in front of a hall where relatives gathered for coffee, doughnuts, and shelter from the chill.

"We wanted to show that they were 'welcome home' in spirit," said Gunnery Sergeant Peter Walz, the battalion spokesman.

The battalion spent its entire tour in Iraq in Fallujah, where it patrolled streets, conducted counterinsurgency operations, and helped rebuild the city.

Reserve forces and the National Guard are playing a big role in Iraq. Of 100,332 National Guard and Reserve personnel who are mobilized, 7,268 are Marines, according to Defense Department data released yesterday.

The Marines who returned to Devens yesterday represented about half of the battalion, all of which has now returned to the United States. The battalion, which consists of reservists from across the country but mostly from New England and the Northeast, is not expected to be deployed again until 2008 at the earliest.

They flew into Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee and took buses to Devens, where their reception was euphoric.

Squeals of joy erupted spontaneously as family members suddenly found their Marine amid a confusing, moving mix of camouflage uniforms and civilian clothes.

Gina Bonti of Farmington, N.H., wiped away tears as she strained to find her son, Lance Corporal Zach Laegel .

Around her neck hung a pair of Laegel's dog tags that she has worn faithfully since he went on active duty.

"It was a way of keeping him close," she said, a Marine Corps sweatshirt keeping her warm.

Laegel, a 21-year-old who has worked as a car salesman and convenience store manager, was wide-eyed.

"This is pretty wild," he said, gazing at the lush greenery surrounding him. "You leave when it's snowing and dreary out, and you go to a place where the females are veiled, it's 130 degrees, and you're wearing 80 pounds of combat gear."

Now, Laegel has a different mission in mind. His combat pay in Iraq had gone to buy a used Mazda RX-8, and he and his parents were heading to pick up the car.

Then, he planned to enjoy a bottle of champagne on the back deck and slowly savor a box of cigars.

Laegel turned to leave. After seven grueling months of sniper fire and the constant threat of roadside bombs, he stopped and offered one more thought before heading to pick up his sports car.

"Make sure you mention," he said, "that there are a lot of people over there in a lot worse places than I was."

Brian MacQuarrie can be reached at macquarrie@globe.com