Four amphibious group ships return home

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Four amphibious group ships return home

By DENNIS O'BRIEN, The Virginian-Pilot
? June 25, 2003 | Last updated 12:54 AM Jun. 26

NORFOLK -- Nearly six months ago, they cut their holiday leave short, packed seabags and shipped out for war.

On Wednesday, the sailors aboard the Bataan, Ashland, Ponce and Gunston Hall came home to resume the lives they put on hold to do the nation's bidding.

The weather, notoriously stormy for recent homecomings at the world's largest Navy base, cooperated. Clear skies and warm, if not, hot temperatures in the upper 80s greeted the sailors who manned the rails of the ship.

The Bataan pulled into the pier just after 9 a.m. and the crowd of several hundred, once sleepy, came to life with cheering and clapping.

``I was more worried now than after 9/11,'' said Kim DeBeau, wife of Master Chief Petty Officer Lawrence DeBeau. ``We just didn't know what to expect when he got over there.''

Kim DeBeau had an Expedition limousine to carry her husband home and a new pool to test out once he got there.

``But he'll have to build the deck,'' she joked. ``And I want it done by 4th of July!''

Farther down the sidewalk, Jessica Paine held a sign with a message for her boyfriend, Petty Officer 3rd Class Jon Cox.

``Your princess,'' the sign read, ``is waiting.''

The deployment was hard, Paine said, but she took some comfort knowing that her boyfriend ``was at sea. He was safer than a lot of guys.''

The ships' fellow traveler Saipan returns Thursday. The last ship of the hastily assembled, seven-ship Amphibious Task Force East, the Kearsarge, returns Monday. The Portland left the war early because of mechanical problems.

Since January, the ships steamed 18,000 miles round-trip to and from the Persian Gulf to deliver and support the 7,000-strong 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade.

Each of the amphibious assault ships pulled additional duties on this deployment aside from their principal mission of bringing the Camp Lejeune-based Marines to and from the fight.

The Bataan switched hats and became a ``Harrier carrier,'' a floating base for two Marine Corps attack squadrons based in Cherry Point, N.C. The 24 Harrier ``jump jets'' based on the Bataan's busy flight deck flew 3,200 hours, 1,400 of them during combat missions in which they dropped 122 tons of 500- and 1,000-pound guided bombs on Iraqi targets.

The Saipan served as a Marine Corps helicopter base and an intermediate-level maintenance shop for the choppers once they leap-frogged ashore. Saipan-based helicopters flew 2,440 sorties for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Big-deck amphibs like the Bataan and Saipan also served as eavesdropping platforms, intercepting and analyzing communications. Saipan alone processed 16.4 million ``signals of interest.''

The Gunston Hall and Ponce supported mine-clearing operations in the Persian Gulf. To that end, once the Gunston Hall sent its artillery men ashore, it took aboard anti-mine dive teams from the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, which based nine mine-detecting dolphins aboard the Gunston Hall that were instrumental in clearing mines from the Iraqi ports of Umm Qasr and Az Zubayr.

Ashland's supporting role was a little less glorious but important nevertheless. It served as the ``Desert Tortoise,'' hauling supplies on the Gulf from Kuwait to Bahrain. Ashland delivered 45,000 pounds of mail for its task-force shipmates and 300 pallets of supplies.

Each of the ships' medical departments pulled unusual duties as well. In addition to treating the typical ingrown toenails and other routine sick calls, they vaccinated their 12,000 sailors and Marines against anthrax and smallpox en route to the Gulf.


At Wednesday's homecoming, John Porfirio, 61, beat the heat by standing under a yellow umbrella. He wrote a message on it to his returning son but had to cross out ``Ensign'' when Mark, 24, recently made lieutenant junior grade.

The homecoming for the family from outside Chicago would be unique because Mark's wife and brother rode the ship in as part of the family-oriented tiger cruise.

``I can't wait to see them all,'' said John Porfirio. ``But I'm truly glad that my son is home safe.''

For a few, homecoming came a day early. That meant that sailors like Petty Officer 3rd Class Travis Higuet spent the day with his wife and 10-month-old on Tuesday. But the next day, he needed to return to work on the ship.

``I get tomorrow off,'' Higuet said. ``So my homecoming comes in pieces.''

Staff writer Matthew Dolan contributed to this report. Reach Dennis O'Brien at dennis.obrien@pilotonline.com or 446-2355.

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Sempers,

Roger