Camp Pendleton Marine Regiment Bids Farewell to Its 100 Dead

God sadly, you can just hear him, puppeting the Weena

The Marines died for a good cause.

FOR WHAT GOOD CAUSE, DID THEY DIE

Iraq is a better and safer place, You decide

THOMAS WATKINS
Associated Press

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - Two weeks after returning from a yearlong deployment to a joyous midnight homecoming, Marines from Regimental Combat Team 5 gathered under the California sun Thursday to remember their 100 comrades killed in Iraq.

"They did not die alone," said the regiment's commanding officer, Col. Larry Nicholson. "They were surrounded by their brothers."

The dead included 40 lance corporals, 24 corporals, 18 sergeants, a handful of privates and four officers, as well as seven soldiers and two Navy corpsmen. The main cause of death was from improvised explosive devices, followed by sniper and small-arms fire.

Even as lawmakers debated the merits of U.S. involvement in Iraq, the colonel told about 350 assembled Marines and 50 or so civilians that the Marines died for a good cause.

"Iraq is a better and safer place because of the services and sacrifices made by the regimental combat team," Nicholson said. "Future generations will marvel at the courage and sacrifice borne by Marines today."

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