236                                   U.S. MARINES IN THE PERSIAN GULF, 199O~199I

15 February--Allied commanders estimated that 30 percent of Iraq's armor, 35
percent of its artillery, and 27 percent of its other armored vehicles in the
Kuwaiti theater of operations had been destroyed by this date.

24 February--The I Marine Expeditionary Force and coalition forces began a
ground assault on Iraqi defenses in the final chapter of Operation Desert Storm.
Located just south of the Kuwaiti border along the Persian Gulf, the 2d Marine
Division and the 1st Marine Division with its four main task forces--Ripper,
Papa Bear, Taro, and Grizzly--stormed into the teeth of Iraqi defenses and
convinced the defenders that it was the main effort of attack.   Meanwhile,
heavily armored allied forces attacked the Iraqi defenses in Iraq from behind.
At the same time,    Marine units of the 4th and 5th Marine Expeditionary
Brigades afloat in the Persian Gulf pinned down large numbers of Iraqi troops
who expected an amphibious assault.     In 100 hours, U.S. and allied forces
defeated the Iraqi Army.

28 February--Operation Desert Storm ended when the cease-fire declared by
President George Bush went into effect.   I Marine Expeditionary Force had a
strength of 92,990 making Operation Desert Storm the largest Marine Corps
operation in history.  A total of 23 Marines were killed in action or later died
of wounds from the time the air war was launched on January 16th until the
cease-fire took effect 43 days later.

10 March--Five Marine prisoners of war were among the 21 POWs who arrived
at Andrews Air Force Base, Washington, D.C.    The Marine POWs were freed
on March 5th and were transported from Iraq by an International Red Cross
aircraft.  They were:  Lieutenant Colonel Clifford M. Acree, Major Joseph J.
Small III, Captain Michael C. Berryman, Captain Russell A.C. Sanborn, and
Warrant Officer Guy L. Hunter.    The POWs were met by Secretary of Defense
Richard Cheney and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin Powell.
Also greeted by their families and thousands of other well-wishers, the POWs
were then taken to the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland.

12 March--President Bush signed an executive order establishing a Southwest
Asia Service Medal for members of the U.S. Armed Forces who participated in
Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.      The medal,  designed by the
Institute of Heraldry, depicted a desert and sea landscape on the front side with
tanks, armored personnel carriers, helicopters, ships, and fixed-wing aircraft.
It was suspended from a sand-colored ribbon incorporating the colors of the
United States and Kuwaiti flags:  red, white, blue, green, and black.

14 March--Euphoria in Kuwait rose with the return of the newly-liberated
country's emir, Sheikh Jaber Ahmad Al-Sabah, after a seven-month exile.  The
emir's return brought hopes for democracy from the Kuwaiti people who
endured Iraqi occupation.