Marine mom Leigh O'Leary holds tight to her son, Lance Cpl. Thomas J. O'Leary, just after he steps off a bus in Twentynine Palms. Chronicle photo by Michael Macor

Twentynine Palms, San Bernardino County -- Editor's note: Chronicle reporter John Koopman was embedded with the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment during the Iraq war, covering the troops' progress from their base in Kuwait into Baghdad. .

By the hundreds they have come to this base in the desert. Wives, kids, moms, dads, sisters, brothers and a couple of crazy old uncles -- all have gathered to mob the Marines as they step off the buses and welcome them home from Iraq.

If you could harness the power of raw human emotion, you could light up the entire Morongo Valley.

Some troops had come home earlier in the week, but the bulk of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment -- the unit that brought down a giant statue of Saddam Hussein in central Baghdad -- came in late Friday night and Saturday evening.

It was a powerful homecoming. These Marines saw a lot of combat. They fought as much as any unit in Iraq, and more than most.

Along the way, their loved ones watched the news and waited, wondering whether their Marines would make it home alive.

So when word came down that the Leathernecks were on their way home this weekend, flights were booked, hotel rooms reserved, signs painted and beer and champagne put on ice.

"There are no words to express how I feel right now," said Karen Gentrup of San Jose. Her son, 1st Lt. Eric Gentrup, was scheduled to come in very late Saturday night.

It was a common response among families. The few words they were able to express were put on signs that sprouted like weeds along Highway 62, from Palm Springs toward Twentynine Palms. Some, from businesses, said "Welcome Home" or "We Support our Troops."

ROADSIDE WELCOME

Closer to the base, and especially along the fence next to the front gate, hundreds of signs and yellow ribbons proclaimed love and support for the Marines and sailors of the battalion.

Some were from wives, expressing love. Many more were from the kids who hadn't seen daddy for four or five months. "It's time to hold me now, daddy," said one big sign with a picture of a young boy on it.

Base officials corralled families and media into the parking lot of a gym late Friday. About 400 people were there to await seven busloads of Marines. The band played the Marine Hymn, and mothers walked around with buttons or T- shirts with their sons' pictures on them. Wives and girlfriends got dressed up and waited nervously, while children ran around in the sand.

The buses were supposed to arrive at 8 p.m., but were delayed until nearly 10 while the Marines first stopped at the armory to check in their rifles.

From out of the darkness, a lone figure jogged up the road toward the parking lot. This Marine had broken ranks and chosen not to wait for his transport to pull around to the lot. He spotted his wife, or girlfriend, and the two ran to each other's arms, and stayed lip-locked for what seemed like several hours. The onlooking families cheered.

Finally, the buses pulled up and a mob scene ensued. Couples cried and hugged and kissed, but the Marines didn't stay long. A few quick handshakes and pats on the back among colleagues and they were gone.

The battalion commander, Lt. Col. B.P. McCoy, was met by his wife, Keri, who is an Army officer.

"It's good to be back," he said. "It was a long haul."

FROM TENT CITY TO BAGHDAD

The battalion had gone to Kuwait in January and February. They stayed in a tent city in the Kuwait desert for a couple of months before the war started on April 20.

Third Battalion, 4th Marines crossed into Iraq and fought at the battle for Basra, taking the airport and an Iraqi military garrison and then headed north.

They fought at Afak, Al Budayr, Diwaniya and Kut before heading to Baghdad.

The battalion of about 1,000 men spent two days fighting for a key bridge over the Dyala Canal, a vital crossing point for the rest of the 1st Marine Division, and then moved into the Iraqi capital.

A couple of days later, these Marines encountered members of the international press corps who had lost their Iraqi protectors the day before. The Marines, who were meeting very little resistance at the time, got orders to move to the Palestine Hotel, where the journalists were staying, to provide security.

Outside the Palestine is a traffic circle dominated by a statue of Hussein. A crowd of Iraqis -- emboldened by the Marine presence -- tried to pull down the statue but it was too large and heavy. They asked McCoy for help, and he authorized the use of a heavy armored vehicle.

When the statue came down, the war was pretty much over. The battalion conducted civil affairs patrols and tried to help quell looting in Baghdad.

The battalion lost six men in Iraq. One died in a humvee accident; one was shot and killed in the battle at Kut. Two died when an Iraqi artillery shell hit an armored assault vehicle. One was killed by an Iraqi while on guard duty at a Baghdad hospital, and one was shot by a Marine sniper who mistook him for an Iraqi soldier.

After returning to Kuwait, the Marines boarded aircraft to fly back to the states.

The battalion is a part of the 1st Marine Division, which is based in Camp Pendleton, and is permanently housed at Twentynine Palms. For the soldiers, spending time in the heat of the desert, while nothing to be sought, is normal.

"Even so, Iraq was hot at the end," said 2nd Lt. Oscar Jimenez. "We'd just lie there and bake. You could hardly move."

The entire battalion is expected to return by the early hours of this morning.

Karen Gentrup and her family went from San Jose to Palm Springs to await the arrival of her middle son, Eric, the battalion adjutant. She spent months watching the war, and the buildup to it, on TV and in the newspapers and was worried sick about her son.

But now, with the end in sight, she was breathing easier.

"I'm no longer paralyzed," she said. "I can breathe again. I'm thinking that things can get back to normal."

Gentrup said the family, her husband, Gene, and their other sons Brad and Mark, will stay in the area until the middle of next week, just to spend some time with Eric.

"My husband was in Vietnam, so he kind of knows how these things go," Gentrup said. "We'll wait and see what (Eric) wants to do. If he wants to talk about it, fine. We'll take our cues from him."

Not every Marine had someone waiting at the gate. A lot of young single guys got off the bus and went to their barracks to drop off their gear.

Then they went to town.

Twentynine Palms is not exactly a metropolis, but there are some good, honky-tonk-style taverns offering beer, pool tables and live bands. A couple dozen guys ended up at the Rattler Bar, where they reacquainted themselves with Mr. Anheuser and Mr. Busch and Mr. Daniel's. They met old girlfriends and told war stories to Marines who had sat out the war.

The party wore on until closing time and after, at Denny's restaurant and private homes where there was no closing time.