Marines return to the multi-purpose amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) from Iraq

The Arabian Gulf (May. 06, 2003) Marines return to the multi-purpose amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) from Iraq. The Marines are among the very first to return to Kearsarge after 81 days ashore. They will be joined by more than 1,500 other members of the Second Marine Expeditionary Brigade (2-MEB). Kearsarge is deployed to the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the multi-national coalition effort to liberate the Iraqi people, eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and end the regime of Saddam Hussein. U.S. Navy photo by Photographers Mate Airman Apprentice Finley Williams. File# 030506-N-2382W-034