Half a World Away for the Holidays : Again, Marines leave--this time for Somalia

In what should be a joyful holiday season, thousands of Marines throughout California are making preparations to leave their families for a humanitarian mission in Somalia.

Among those shipping out to join the United Nations’ effort is a mother who must leave behind her 3-month-old daughter and a father who will miss the birth of his second child; his first was born while he was deployed during the Persian Gulf War.

Last weekend, a Tustin Marine Corps Air Station lieutenant colonel who was trying to help families prepare for separation said that although the troops must be away from home at this festive time they would be “proud of this mission for the rest of (their) lives.”

That may be so, but that doesn’t take away the sting of separation, or the fear of what servicemen and servicewomen will face in Somalia.

The Californians who will participate in this operation, some of them veterans of Desert Storm, are being called on once again to make personal sacrifices. They are carrying out a mission of mercy on behalf of an American public pained by pictures of starvation half a world away.

For many of the Marines, the difficulty is not only the fear of gunfire and threat of disease but the prospect of seeing with their own eyes the agonizing deaths of those it is too late to save.

At least eight military bases in California are expected to send troops to Somalia, where warring factions have kept food from starving men, women and children. Included are ground troops and air personnel from the Tustin and El Toro Marine Corps air stations in Orange County and Camp Pendleton in Oceanside. The troops are being sent in an effort to bring order so that the food already in the country can be distributed.

President Bush, in announcing the U.S. military’s participation in the mission, said he saw American action as limited in duration and as “a catalyst for broader involvement of the community of nations.” Both must remain as goals. While Americans are big of heart, they should not be expected to be the only ones to respond to a crisis that demands the compassion of every citizen of the world.

It is especially hard for families to be apart during the holiday season. The Californians who are being called on to leave their homes--just as so many of us are making plans for family gatherings--deserve everyone’s appreciation and admiration.