© Courtesy: MCAS Cpl. Aaron DiamantYUMA, AZ - It was an emotional morning at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma Saturday as the first wave of VMA-211 Marines stationed at MCAS Yuma returned home to friends and family.
The private homecoming comes a week after losing their commander and six planes in an attack in Afghanistan.
Capt. Staci Reidinger with Marine Corps Air Station Yuma says about 30 marines arrived to Yuma. She says the marines are among more than 200 members of Marine Attack Squadron 211 who have been in Afghanistan for six months and were previously set for return.
The squadron's Commanding Officer, Lt Col. Christopher Raible and fellow comrade Sgt. Bradley Atwell were killed in a Sept. 15 insurgent attack on Camp Bastion in southern Afghanistan. The attack wounded several other marines, destroyed six harrier jets and damaged two others. Sgt. Atwell's memorial was held Friday at the MCAS Yuma base chapel and Lt Col. Raible's memorial will be Monday at 10 in the morning.
The rest of the squadron is set to return within two months.
A military source tells News 13 it was a command decision not to invite the media to Satuday's homecoming.
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