National Guardsmen Return Home From Iraq to Ravaged Louisiana

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National Guardsmen Return Home From Iraq ... to Ravaged Louisiana


The first planeload of 100 weary Louisiana National Guardsmen touched down here Friday morning, returning from the carnage of Iraq on their way to the their home state that has been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. The soldiers clambered off the plane to go through U.S. Customs before their charter flight from Kuwait departed again for Alexandria, La., where they face the task of finding scattered families. At Bangor airport, elderly members of a U.S. veterans group waved flags and offered the soldiers cell phones and chocolate chip cookies. "It's good to be back," said Pvt. Joshua Dumas, 23, of Slidell, La.

After seeing 35 of their number killed in Iraq, members of the 256th Brigade Combat Team readied to take care of relatives made refugees, or, perhaps, mourn family members killed or hurt by Katrina and its devastating aftermath. For Spc. Nathan Faust of Chalmette, La., it's a total loss. His family home is flooded to the peak of the roof. His fiancee's home in Plaquemines Parish is at least as devastated. He said his uncle, the warden at the Orleans Parish jail, was trapped in his office by riots for 30 hours in knee-deep water.

"All my stuff, all my family, everyone's homeless," said Faust, his worry-lined face making him appear older than his 23 years. "I want to move out of the city and start over someplace else. I can't put my life on hold for two years and wait for the city to get back on its feet." The 100 returnees were mainly soldiers from the New Orleans-based 1st Battalion, 141st Field Artillery Regiment, which left Kuwait on Thursday night on a charter flight. The few hundred remaining battalion members are expected to fly home from Kuwait over the next few days.

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