Road To Baghdad

CBS News photographer Larry Warner is on the road with combat engineers from the 1st Marine Division, which headed out of Kuwait toward Baghdad. The unit is responsible for building bridges for the invasion forces and helping them move forward.

The first day of war the unit started heading north. While riding on the highway to Baghdad, you wonder what it's connected to. It's a brand new highway in the middle of an unforgiving desert. There's nothing around to look at.

Lt. Tom Tragesser leads a platoon that is helping change the course of history. Trained to shoot as well as build, these combat engineers have had to grow up fast on the road to Baghdad.

After four days in the desert, they build an assault bridge in the middle of a sandstorm so fierce that it slowed the advance of the invasion force. The bridge went up without a problem.

CBS News producer Chuck Stevenson stands on a completed bridge. Building a bridge is back-breaking work. Every bridge that is built goes up in the shadow of battle, and in the shadow of fear.

Seventeen days after they set out, the unit builds their biggest bridge, across the Tigris River. It's their most formidable obstacle on the long road to Baghdad.