TOPSHAM — Twenty members of Company A 1st Battalion 25th Marines based in Topsham left the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Center tonight for eventual deployment to Iraq.

The group is headed to Twentynine Palms, Calif., for several months of advanced infantry training.

A crowd of family and friends gave the group a tearful send-off. Well-wishers waving flags lined the streets near the center as the bus departed.