MARINES UNLOAD UPON ARRIVAL AT THE MOREHEAD CITY PORT, 2002-04-18 (photo)

Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit unload their Molle packs from the USS Shreveport after arriving at the Morehead City Port on April 18, 2002. The first U.S. Marines sent into Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States returned home on Thursday to waiting families and waving flags in coastal North Carolina. The 2,200 Marines and sailors from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit left on Sept. 20 for Afghanistan, where they secured the Kandahar Airport ahead of a U.S. military buildup in the region. Based at Camp LeJeune, they also set up Camp Rhino where nearly 400 Taliban and al Qaeda prisoners were processed in the U.S. "war on terrorism." REUTERS/Randy Davey HK/ME