On October 23, 1983, 241 Americans - most of them Marines from Battalion Landing Team 1, 8th Marines - were killed in Beirut when their barracks was targeted by a terrorist driving a truck laden with explosives. A few moments later, a similar suicide bomber struck a French unit nearby, killing 58 French paratroopers.
I remember watching the rescue efforts go on for days. And I remember the video of President Reagan walking past rows of flag-draped coffins, his wife alongside him. I think every man and woman in the service felt a horrible sense of loss as those events unfolded. Our base was unusually quiet, the soldiers subdued and withdrawn. All of us were Marines those few days.
The attack is widely believed to have been carried out by elements of Hezbollah (which still did not officially exist at the time), backed by the Iranian government. Even then, Iran was killing our troops and even then, we did absolutely nothing to stop them or to punish them. While politicians, both French and American, said the right things after the attack, our response was minimal, and the troops were eventually moved offshore in 1984.
After some lenghty legalese, Iran was declared legally responsible for providing Hezbollah with the financial and logistical support that helped them carry out the attack. On September 7, 2007, the plaintiffs were awarded $2,656,944,877, to be shared among the victims.
When the survivors of the bombing returned to Camp Lejeune, N.C., they were met by Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Paul X. Kelley, who famously said:
“When I met the first flight of your fallen comrades as they arrived at Dover, Delaware, after the mass murder of 23 October, I asked the question, Lord, where do we get such men? As you stand here today I ask the same question. Where do we get such men of courage -- such men of dedication -- such men of patriotism -- such men of pride? The simple answer is that we get them from every clime and place, from every race, from every creed, and from every color.”
Twenty five long years later, America has yet to honor these heroes appropriately. The story of this anniversary will largely go untold by an anti-military media and Liberal-lead government. An HoR resolution to honor these men and their sacrifice with a commemorative postage stamp has far too few sponsors and remains hung up in committee. As usual, our politicians will do nothing for our men and women in uniform unless finally forced to by taxpayers and independent groups.
241 Americans, serving their country, following orders, trying to bring some semblance of peace to a dangerous and deadly land. We must never forget them.
UPDATED: Michelle Malkin lists the names of the fallen.
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