Cheney greets Marine units back from Iraq

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- Vice President Dick Cheney told members of a Marine Corps unit that suffered heavy casualties in Iraq that the United States will honor the dead by ''completing the mission."

''All of you are part of a team that continues to make history," Cheney said yesterday to about 4,500 Marines, many from the Third Battalion, 25th Marines.

The battalion lost 48 people in Iraq and had more than 150 wounded. The deaths included 14 Marines killed in back-to-back attacks within a week over the summer.

''The loss to our country is irreplaceable," Cheney told the crowd before awarding Purple Hearts to five Marines, including two from the 25th. ''We will honor their memory forever and we will honor their sacrifice by completing the mission."

Most of the battalion's 900 members, based in Brook Park, Ohio, arrived at Camp Lejeune last week.

The bulk of the unit flew into North Carolina late Friday, when the White House announced Cheney's trip.

They are growing eager to return home.

''Everybody is missing their families, their kids," said Sergeant Brian Kroon, 35, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. ''They want to get back to normal life -- Taco Bell and speaking English."

The Marines are being debriefed for several days before they head to their various companies in Ohio, West Virginia, and New York for more public festivities.