10/06/2005

By THOMAS J. SHEERAN  / Associated Press

Family members with relatives in a Marine Corps battalion that lost 48 members in Iraq cheered loudly Thursday as the unit finished its trip home.

Thousands of people lined a one-mile parade route from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport to welcome back the 160 Marines of Headquarters & Service Company of the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines.

The parade route led to a recreation center where the Marines could enjoy private reunions with friends and family anxiously awaiting their return.

"You don't really realize what we have until it's gone," said Melissa Schlabach, 25, of Canton, who brought her 2 1/2-year old son, Josh, to welcome home her brother, Cpl. Brent Monastra, 23, of Canton. "I'm really excited to see him. Growing up with him you don't realize what you have until he's not around."

The Marines' fallen comrades were on their minds as they returned.

"It's really sad, I lost a lot of good friends," said Lance Cpl. Jason Woodliff, 23, of Massillon, who served in Iraq with his brother Johel Woodliff, 20.

"There's nothing else you can do but come back and lead a normal life and think of them as you go along," Jason Woodliff said.

Lance Cpl. Nick Kehl, 23, of Berea, said the deaths made the homecoming difficult.

"It's really hard losing guys," he said.

The battalion commander, Col. Lionel B. Urquhart, thanked family members during a brief ceremony at the recreation center, saying their support was important to the Marines while they served overseas.

"We couldn't have done it without you," he said. "You lifted our spirits when our spirits needed to be lifted."

Brook Park police estimated the parade crowd at more than 5,000.

The caravan of Marines was escorted by a more than 70 civilian motorcycles plus police cars, fire trucks and an ambulance with sirens sounding and lights flashing.

The Marines saluted the flags held by a color guard at the recreation center. Some carried their bags. One walked with crutch.

Lance Cpl. Eric Montgomery, whose brother Lance Cpl. Brian Montgomery, 26, of Willoughby, was killed while the two served in Iraq, worked at the homecoming directing relatives and Marines into the recreation center's parking lot.

"Right now, it's just bittersweet," Montgomery said. "I can't wait to see these guys get home so bad. I love these guys."

Montgomery escorted his brother's body home in early August.

"There's a part of me wishes my brother was coming home with them and that I was coming home with them because I was looking forward to that," he said. "But I'm home now and I just can't wait to give these guys the welcome they deserve because they're all heroes."

The battalion's deaths included 14 Marines killed in back-to-back attacks within a week during the summer. Another 150 unit members were wounded. The battalion has about 900 members.

A city crew patched potholes along the parade route hours before the Marines flew from Camp Lejeune, N.C., to nearby Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

The reunion scene was the Brook Park recreation center, which was decorated with a red carpet and banners reading "Thank You," "We Love You" and "Let Freedom Ring."

A separate arrival ceremony was held in early afternoon for Beans, the puppy adopted by Cpl. Jeff Boskovitch, 25, of nearby North Royalton, and fellow Marines. Iraqi villagers sold the puppy for a quarter and three jelly beans and she became the unit's mascot.

Boskovitch was killed in Iraq on Aug. 1 and his mother, Kathy Wright, asked the Marine Corps to fly the dog here to live with her. It had been her son's wish to bring her home.

Homecomings are planned Friday for battalion units based in Akron and Columbus. The battalion also has units in Buffalo, N.Y., and Moundsville, W.Va.

Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, whose son Lance Cpl. John David "J.D." Coleman, 20, returns Friday, said the family is thrilled. "This is a special moment for the family, a special moment for every family that is receiving their children back," he said.

The menu for the Coleman homecoming? "Barbecue ribs," the mayor said. "I'm maybe the best rib cooker in America. I don't know if he wants mine or somebody else's. He hasn't specified. What he wants is some home cookin'."

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Associated Press reporter Carrie Spencer in Columbus contributed to this report.