Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
Dave

On This Date.....23 Oct 1983

Recommended Posts

241 Soldiers, Sailors and Marines were killed in Beirut barracks bombing. Also 58 French paratroopers were killed in a separate bombing. Never forget, never forgive.

 

"They came in peace"

 

RIP brothers. 

 

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/10/23/families-beirut-bomb-victims-mark-30th-anniversary-first-major-terrorist-attack/

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

post-66-0-35402100-1382568554_thumb.jpg

 

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I remeber that day very well. Surprised to see a truck bomb being used and couldnt understand why the Marines were under the restrictive measures of the time.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It is a sad day to remember. But I wasn't even born at the time. For some reason I remember this date being emphasized and re-emphasized during boot camp.

 

241 is a big number, and it could realistically happen any day in any part of the world again.

 

 


Awhile ago, we brought you the story of Paul “Doc” Doolittle, a mild-mannered Scout leader from Colorado who set out an an ambitious mission Oct. 1 to walk 273 miles–a mile in honor of every name on the wall of the official Beirut Memorial in Jacksonville, N.C.

This morning, on the dawn of the 30th anniversary of the Beirut bombings, Doolittle finished his walk at the wall. And he wasn’t alone. Though Doolittle, a former sergeant who served part of his enlistment as an Embassy Security Guard in Beirut following the bombings, expected his 23-day walk to be a private endeavor, interest spread rapidly through his Facebook page, A Walk to Remember the Beirut Barracks Bombing.

People from all over the country asked for one of the red-and-yellow T-shirts he made with a pair of boot prints and the words “A Walk to Remember,” and many embarked on memory treks of their own.

“As of about 11:30 last night, there were over 2,000 miles of walks in at least nine different states,” Doolittle said.

Doolittle walked roughly 12 miles a day around Jacksonville, N.C., finishing with a short walk this morning.

Doolittle-gray-300x225.jpg

Doolittle with former commandant Al Gray at the anniversary ceremony at the Beirut memorial.
Courtesy Doolittle’s Facebook page.

He said his most moving encounter during the walk came earlier this month, when he was having dinner in a local restaurant, and started talking to a young man who worked there about his mission to honor the Marines who died in Beirut.

“He looked up at me and said, ‘my dad’s on that wall,’” Doolittle said. “I really didn’t know what to say to him, other than to say, ‘I’m walking for your dad.’”

Doolittle-dan-joy-300x225.jpg

Doolittle shakes hands with Danny Joy, a Marine veteran and survivor of the Beirut bombings.
Photo courtesy Doolittle’s Facebook page

Though Doolittle is a burly, thickset guy, he said the biggest challenge he faced on the walk was not physical but psychological strain, which hit hard on day 14 of the walk.

“That was the day that I hit the wall on this effort and knew that I had to play true and complete the task,” he said.

The next day, he got up and hit the road again.

Doolittle-300x225.jpg

Doolittle stands at the Beirut memorial at the end of his walk.
Photo courtesy Doolittle’s Facebook page.

Doolittle described the end of the walk as bittersweet and said he plans to fly home to Colorado tomorrow.

Edited by exhausted

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

My friend was a machine gun section leader and they had just left the barracks a few days before and boarded ship. They were out in the Med when it happend and they went back in. He said they shot about a thousand rounds a day, every day, after that.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

RIP my friends and countrymen....

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue..