72                                U.S. MARINES IN THE PERSIAN GULF, 1990-1991


                                     Depanment of Defense Photo (USMC) 0732 20 91
"Fhone home ~: Afier the ceasefire, Marines, sailors, and soldiers of the 2d Marine
Division took the opportunity to call the United States, with assistance from a U.S.
telecommunications company.

    By mid-April, most of the division had returned to Camp Lejeune and a few
days of well-deserved liberty. Woodland camouflage utilities took the place of
desert camouflage, and acquaintances were renewed among Marines who had not
seen each other for several months. As the active-duty Marines settled into a
normal routine, their Reserve counterparts were demobilized and returned home
to families and civilian occupations. By the middle of May the remaining
battalions returned from Saudi Arabia, and the division turned to its usual
business of deployments and the rotation of units. For the 2d Marine Division,
"The Storm" was over at last.

                               Epilogue

                      When, without stratagem,
                  But in plain shock and even play of battle,
                  Was ever known so great and little loss,
                  On one part and on th'other?
                  (William Shakespeare: King Henry The Fifth;
                  Act IV, Scene VIII)

    On 8 June 1991, members of the 2d Marine Division formed up on The
Mall in Washington, D.C., to participate in the national victory parade. Barely
six months from the time that its first elements had arrived in Saudi Arabia,
the division had completed its missions and redeployed to Camp Lejeune. Now,
the division was to participate in one of its last roles relating to Desert Storm.