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Rest in Peace Marines & Sailors…
Department of Defense Report ?23 October 1983 "At approximately 0622 on Sunday, 23 Oct. 1983, the Battalion Landing Team headquarters building in the Marine Amphibious Unit compound at Beirut International Airport was destroyed by a terrorist bomb. The catastrophic attack took the lives of 241 Marines, sailors and soldiers and wounded more than 100 others. The bombing was carried out by one lone terrorist driving a yellow Mercedes Benz stake-bed truck that accelerated through the public parking lot south of the BLT headquarters building, where it exploded. The truck drove over the barbed and concertina wire obstacle, passed between two Marine guard posts without being engaged by fire, entered an open gate, passed around one sewer pipe barrier and between two others, flattened the Sergeant of the Guard's sandbagged booth at the building's entrance, penetrated the lobby of the building and detonated while the majority of the occupants slept. The force of the explosion [12,000 pounds] ripped the building from its foundation. The building then imploded upon itself. Almost all the occupants were crushed or trapped inside the wreckage."
Wow, that is sad. I vaguely remember that day in 1983. I wonder how the van got through so many obstacles. And why wasn't it fired upon?
There were not that many obstacles, just a simple serpentine and a gate with gaurds without ammo. Remember this was one of the first really spectacular terrorist attacks. Nobody expected something like that. This is truly a day for us all to reflect on the sacrifices of so many Marines who had no idea of the threat they faced and the cowardlyness of the terrorists who are AFRAID to engage in a stand up fight because they know they will lose. Let us hope that we dont forget the sacrifice of those Marines and others who have fallen to such disgraceful tactics.
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