Congresswoman Mazie Hirono is leading a delegation of representatives from Virginia, Mississippi and California on a mission in Iraq to obtain firsthand information on the progress being made.

In a phone call from Iraq yesterday, Hirono first and foremost wanted to extend her sympathy to the family of Lt. Col. Max Galeai, the commanding officer who died Thursday in an attack that killed two other Kane'ohe Marines. Galeai commanded a Hawai'i-based battalion of more than 1,000 Marines.

"First, I wish to extend my condolences to the family," Hirono said. "I found out the circumstances of their death today on my travels to Fallujah."

Galeai, 42, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines at Kane'ohe's Marine Corps Base Hawai'i, is believed to have been killed in the town of Karmah in Anbar province, about 30 miles west of Baghdad, in a suicide bomb attack. Also killed in the attack were Capt. Phil Dykeman, 38, of New York, the leader of the battalion's Fox Company, and 23-year-old Cpl. Marcus W. Preudhomme, of North Miami Beach, Fla.

Hirono said she had spent the day receiving briefings from the State Department and U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd James Austin III, commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps and Multi-National Corps-Iraq, and other officials.

Most of the time was spent indoors, but the delegation did get to go into the community, mostly in the so-called Green Zone, a heavily guarded diplomatic/government area of closed-off streets in central Baghdad where U.S. occupation authorities live and work.

"It's been a busy day," Hirono said.

Hirono represents the 2nd Congressional District, which includes the north and west sections of O'ahu and the Neighbor Islands. She said she will return to Honolulu on Thursday. Congress resumes July 8.

As of May, 4,078 American military personnel have been killed, with more than 3,100 as a result of enemy action. The remainder were killed in nonhostile incidents including a small number of drownings, illnesses and electrocutions, but mostly vehicle and weapon accidents.

"In all of our briefings, we've been told that there's a lessening of violence in Iraq, but you can still have things like the tragic death of our three Marines," Hirono said. "I don't think we've turned the corner yet."

On Saturday, al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack in Anbar province in which Galeai, Dykeman and Preudhomme were killed.

This was Galeai's second deployment to Iraq. A graduate of Oregon State University in 1988, Galeai, of Pago Pago, American Samoa, joined the Marines out of college. Before coming to the Islands in 2007, he served in Virginia, California, Okinawa and elsewhere. His service awards include two Bronze Stars, the Purple Heart and five Meritorious Service Medals.

Dykeman, the leader of Fox Company, joined the Marines in June 1991 and came to Hawai'i in May 2007. He has been awarded a host of medals, including the Purple Heart.

Preudhomme joined the Marines in 2005 and was sent to Hawai'i the same year. His awards include the Purple Heart and the Combat Action Ribbon, the Marines said.