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Liberating Kuwait
wartime practices of some Marine units did not make it easier. The Direct Support Command spent the first half of March searching for and retrieving Marine Corps equipment left on the battlefield. Much of this was maritime prepositioning equipment apparently abandoned by units returning to the United States. General Charles Krulak was incensed at this waste, referring to it as “the biggest disgrace of the war” and “a Marine Corps shame.”24 On 17 March, the Direct Support Command stood down, and the 2d Force Service Support Group stood up, continuing the work of the remaining combat service support units in Southwest Asia. Throughout the rest of March, April, and May, the group continued moving supplies, cleaning equipment, and loading ships. On 23 June, General Krulak departed the region, along with the bulk of 2d Force Service Support Group. Marine Forces, Southwest Asia finally stood down on 10 October, and the last Marines deployed for the Gulf War departed the region.25
A Triumphant Return Five Marines were captured by the Iraqis in the Gulf War: Lieutenant Colonel Clifford Acree, Chief Warrant Officer-4 Guy Hunter, Major Joseph Small, Cap-
tain Russell Sanborn, and Captain Michael Berryman. All were aircrewmen belonging to 3d Marine Aircraft Wing squadrons. They spent varying amounts of time in Iraqi custody, but all were treated with brutality and contempt for the accepted, proper treatment of prisoners of war. The return of Coalition prisoners of war was one of General Schwarzkopf’s priorities at the Safwan cease-fire talks, and the Iraqis readily agreed to it. The five Marine prisoners of war were returned to the United States and reunited with their families on 10 March. At home, Marines who participated in Desert Shield and Desert Storm were shocked at the enthusiastic welcome they received in the States, not just from their loved ones but from the nation as a whole. There were many parades and celebrations around the country. On 8 June, East Coast Marines participated in a victory parade on the National Mall in Washington, DC, and there were numerous parades on 4 July in which the Independence Day holiday celebrations merged with gratitude for those who had returned from the Gulf. Returning as whole units, beside the Marines with whom they fought, created a very different homecoming for the Gulf War veterans than that experienced a generation earlier by veterans of the Vietnam War.
Passing before the Lincoln Memorial, a Marine waves to the crowd from his vehicle as he participates in a parade in Washington, DC, held in honor of the troops returning from the Gulf War. Photo by CWO-2 Ed Bailey, USNR. Defense Imagery DN-ST-92-00329
