Camp Lejeune

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. -- Every Friday and Saturday night, scores of off-duty Marines flock to a Jacksonville bar to shoot a game of pool, cure a bout of loneliness or dance until the wee hours.By the book, they are risking stiff fines or even jail time, since Camp Lejeune, the largest Marine Corps base on the East Coast, has declared the bar, Friends Lounge, off limits to the installation's 43,000 Marines and sailors. It is a gay bar and conflicts with the military's ban on homosexual behavior.

Westminster grad completes basic at Camp LejeuneMarine Pvt. Philip W. Boner, son of Robert P. and Carolyn B. Boner of Westminster, recently completed the Basic Engineer Equipment Mechanic Course.During the course at Marine Corps Engineer School, Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, N.C., students studied the inspection, maintenance and repair of engineering and earth moving equipment. The 1990 Westminster High School graduate joined the Marine Corps in January.POLICE* Westminster: Helene Ferguson of Hillside Court reported Wednesday that her purse was stolen at a restaurant in 140 Village Shopping Center.

3 men from area reporting for dutyMarine Pfc. Bart J. Redifer, son of George J. and Kathleen M. Redifer of Eldersburg, recently reported for duty with the 8th Motor Transport Battalion, 2nd Force Service Support Group, Camp Lejeune, N.C.A 1991 Liberty High School graduate, he joined the Marine Corps in December 1991.* Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Thomas E. Butcher recently reported for duty aboard the submarine USS Norfolk, based in Portsmouth, N.H.He is the son of Lawrence E. and Susan H. Butcher of Finksburg.

Marine Lance Cpl. Larry W. Dowell, son of Charles R. and Shirley A. Dowell of Bel Air, was promoted to his present rank while serving with the Second Light Armored Infantry Battalion, Second Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, N.C.The 1986 graduate of Bel Air High School joined the Marine Corps in December 1990. His wife, Jennifer, is the daughter of Bruce and Sharon Young, of Bel Air.SANTOS REPORTS TO N.C.Marine Sgt. Valeria B. De Los Santos, daughter of James P. Murphyof Havre de Grace, reported for duty with Headquarters Battalion, Second Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, N.C.The 1981 graduate of Edgewood High School joined the Marine Corps in January 1982.

Marine Pfc. Matthew J. Friedel, son of Larry J. and Elizabeth N. Friedel of Taneytown, recently completed infantry training. During the course at Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, N.C., students receiveclassroom instruction and participate in field exercises involving infantry tactics, construction and camouflage positions, and the use of mines, demolitions and communications equipment. A 1991 graduate of Francis Scott Key High School, Friedel joined the Marine Corps in June 1991.

* Two Carroll countians and two soldiers with relatives in Carroll recently returned from deployment to the Middle East in support of Operation Desert Storm.Marine Lance Cpl. Scott W. Wolford and MarineSgt. Russell L. Becker both served with Brigade Service Support Group-4, 2nd Force Service Support Group, Camp Lejeune, N.C.Marine Cpl. Mark W. Rauser served with the 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, N.C., and Navy Master Chief Petty Officer Robert L. Dallatore served with Fighter Squadron-102, Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia Beach, Va.Wolford is the son of Willie J. and Sharon L. Woodard of Westminster.

George R. Montour, son of George and Evelyn Montour of here, returned from the Persian Gulf March 28.The petty officer 1st class was deployed aboard the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy in September.Montour lives with his wife, Susan, and their son, Christopher, near the Patuxent Naval Base in St. Mary's County.He is stationed at the Norfolk Naval Base in Norfolk, Va.MARINES COME HOMEFive county Marine reservists were greeted with sunshine and warm hugs as they returned from the Persian Gulf to their Baltimore headquarters Tuesday afternoon.

The cease-fire was in place and Kuwaitis danced in the streets, but the Persian Gulf war was not over for Lance Cpl. James M. Lang, a 20-year-old Marine reservist from Oxon Hill.Corporal Lang was killed Friday afternoon when a captured grenade detonated as he was turning it in "somewhere in Kuwait," the Marine Corps said yesterday. He was the fifth Marylander to die in the war."We received a letter from him Sunday and found out on Monday. It was a real high and a real low for the whole family," said his sister, Violet Lang, 23, of Falls Church, Va. "He was very proud to be a Marine."