Marines come home to warm welcome, new babies

CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA - More than 2,000 Marine who were sent to Afghanistan to help hunt terrorists have come home after seven months to warm welcomes and, in some cases, brand new babies. <br> <br> Sgt. Justin Baker cradled his new daughter, 2-month-old Jordin, in his arms while his wife fiddled with Baker&#39;s floppy brimmed desert hat to shield the baby from the noon sun. <br> <br> ``I can&#39;t explain it,&#39;&#39; Baker told bystanders Thursday after holding his baby for the first time. ``The feeling was amazing.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The contrast between duty in Afghanistan, much of it at the Kandahar airport which the Marines seized, and the comfort of a hot parking lot wasn&#39;t lost on any of the Marines. <br> <br> ``The mortar rounds would go off every day, but you got used to it,&#39;&#39; said Lance Cpl. Douglas Harman, 21, of Atlanta, Ga. ``And then there was sniper fire, and then we got miserable. We weren&#39;t showering. We were eating MREs (Meals Ready to Eat).&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The members of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit were busy for the three months they spent in Afghanistan after leaving the United States on Sept. 20. In addition to seizing the airport, the Marines reopened the U.S. embassy in Kabul, helped build a prison for enemy detainees and searched caves for Taliban forces. <br> <br> A Marine Corps record was established for the deepest amphibious unit deployment into enemy territory. Aircraft attached to the unit flew 1,231 combat sorties, including the first combat for AV-8B Harrier jets since the Gulf War. <br> <br> ``People who say American kids aren&#39;t tough haven&#39;t seen these guys,&#39;&#39; said Lt. Col. Jerome Lynes, battalion commander of the MEU&#39;s infantry battalion. <br> <br> Lynes&#39; troops lived around the airport perimeter for weeks in holes dug in the dirt with corrugated metal for a roof and Spartan, if any, sanitary facilities. Most ate the plastic-wrapped MREs that fit into their pants pockets. <br> <br> The experience was what the Marines appeared to crave, because the re-enlistment rate while in Afghanistan was higher than usual, Lynes said. <br> <br> ``They were cold. They were miserable,&#39;&#39; Lynes said. ``They stank ... but they stayed Marines.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Hospitalman Paul Leibhart said he was happy to be home as he watched families and friends waving American flags and welcome signs and hugged his wife and two children. <br> <br> ``Your life doesn&#39;t seem the same when you&#39;re not with your family,&#39;&#39; Leibhart said. ``There&#39;s just a big void.&#39;&#39;