Gung-ho mood is gone at Camp Pendleton

[UpInArms]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04116/305556.stm

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- A chill is spreading through this military town, and it's
not coming from the breeze blowing in off the beach.

On quiet downtown streets where palm trees are laced with yellow ribbons, in bars and barbershops where televisions flicker with news of more casualties and extended combat tours, the gung-ho mood that many residents were in a year ago is giving way to torment or dismay.

Oceanside, the next-door neighbor of Camp Pendleton, home of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, is reeling from the new wave of violence and chaos unfolding across Iraq. About 14,000 Marines from the base here are taking part in the fierce fighting, and more than two dozen of them have been killed in action this month.

It is a place trying its best to remain resolute. Businesses along the coastal highway are flying red Marine flags or have taped the Marine motto "Semper Fi" to their windows. But even ardent supporters of the war are beginning to express cynicism or confusion about whether its goals will be achieved, and at what cost.

...more...