| U.S. Marines in Liberia went about the workaday tasks Friday of America's first peace mission in Africa in a decade, patrolling new razor-wire perimeters and guarding the first in a convoy of aid ships. For now, the task seems straightforward: ``Trying to get the boats in the port,'' said Maj. Leonard DeFrancisci of Melbourne, Fla., a reservist with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Friday marked the first full day ashore for about 200 U.S. troops, who landed by helicopter from three ships offshore after President Charles Taylor, bowing to international pressure, resigned and left his country. |