Bad Hair Day in Beirut - 23 OCT 1983

[Richard]

On this day in 1983, at 0622hrs, a tango drove a demo-loaded truck into the Marine barracks in Beirut. The blast killed 241 Americans.

At around 6:20 a.m., a rainbow Mercedes-Benz truck drove to Beirut International Airport, where the 1st Battalion 8th Marines under the 2nd Marine Division had set up its local headquarters. The truck had been substituted for a hijacked water delivery truck. The truck turned onto an access road leading to the Marines' compound and circled a parking lot. The driver then accelerated and crashed through a barbed wire fence around the parking lot, passed between two sentry posts, crashed through a gate and drove into the lobby of the Marine headquarters. The Marine sentries at the gate were operating under rules of engagement which made it very difficult to respond quickly to the truck. By the time the two sentries had locked, loaded, and shouldered their weapons, the truck was already inside the building's entry way.

The suicide bomber detonated his explosives, which were equivalent to 5,400 kg (12,000 pounds) of TNT. The force of the explosion collapsed the four-story cinder-block building into rubble, crushing many inside. According to Eric Hammel in his history of the Marine landing force, "The force of the explosion initially lifted the entire four-story structure, shearing the bases of the concrete support columns, each measuring fifteen feet in circumference and reinforced by numerous one and three quarter inch steel rods. The airborne building then fell in upon itself. A massive shock wave and ball of flaming gas was hurled in all directions."

Following the Beirut barracks tragedy, the realization that terrorist organizations have weapons of potentially enormous yield deliverable by an ordinary truck or van led to the placement of protective barriers around critical government facilities throughout the world.

About two minutes later, a similar attack occurred against the barracks of the French La 3ème Compagnie, 1er Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes (3rd Company of the 1st Parachute Infantry Regiment), 6 km away in the Ramlet al Baida area of West Beirut. Another suicide bomber drove his truck down a ramp into the 'Drakkar' building's underground parking garage and detonated his bomb, leveling the eight-story building and killing 58 French soldiers. Many of the soldiers had gathered on their balconies moments earlier to see what was happening at the airport.

I was in the IOAC when this happened and remember it well. And so it goes.

Richard

[Gypsy]

May all Rest in Peace, thoughts out to the survivors and families/friends.

Lest we forget...

[SF_BHT]

We will never forget those that we have lost that day.

Rest in Peace Marines.....

[zauber1]

Also died on that day:

SFC James Yarber, US Army formerly of the 82 ABN

SFC Yarber was a Radar Instructor assigned to the Counterfire Division of the Field Artillery School. A Target Acquisition Battery was formed from instructors at the School and assigned to the Marines in Lebanon. SFC Yarber had come in early that morning to the Marine Barracks to share coffee with the Marines.

[FMF DOC]

also died that day.. I need to double check but I believe 11 Navy Corpsman 2 Surgeons plus dental offcer

[ZonieDiver]

From my perspective, never forget that the fundamental attitude of many Americans changed that day - especially in regard to how our CinC presented the events to the public. We galvanized. We sought to follow our leader. Amercians often seek a leader.

I was showing the film "Alamo" with Billy Bob Thornton, et al to my class in regard to "Manifest Destiny," the Texas "question" and that period of American History. There is a point in the film - buried amongst all that is happening - where a Mexican officer says, "Sigue me!" Follow me... it is, in my estimation, what most Americans seek in a political leader.

[Richard]

Originally Posted by ZonieDiver

...where a Mexican officer says, "Sigue me!"

Must be an Infantry School grad.

Richard's $.02

[JJ_BPK]

Rest in Peace..

[greenberetTFS]

RIP, Marines.........

GB TFS

[Conrad Y]

I was there that day in a hotel with the rest of my MTT (10th Group) just north of Beirut. Our windows moved from the blast. The decision was made later that day for us to move into the mountains and live in tents, which we did for a couple of months. We had just spent time the week prior with those Marines having them use our firing range in the mountains and rub shoulders with them with the hope that we could snake some supplies from them in the future. Those poor guys were not allowed to have mags in their guns because it looked too "aggressive" for a peace-keeping mission. What a terrible waste of life.

[Richard]

Originally Posted by Conrad Y

Those poor guys were not allowed to have mags in their guns because it looked too "aggressive" for a peace-keeping mission.

Just another good reason to ensure your beret is rifle green and not blue (UN) or orange (MFO)!

Richard's $.02

[zauber1]

The US Army lost three (3) soldiers that day. Here is their story:

http://sill-www.army.mil/famag/1989/...AGES_26_27.pdf

[Atilla]

Semper Fidelis, RIP

[lindy]

I apologize for the late post but I only recently returned to CONUS.

In my current position, I have been posted overseas a few years and, now that I'm back in CONUS, I TDY to various Posts all over the world.

At 0900 on 23 October 2009, the ENTIRE Embassy staff, American and Locally Employed Staff, gathered at the Memorial on the Embassy compound to remember the events of that day 26 years ago. The Ambo gave a speech which outlined what happened that day (I only remember the Time Magazine cover) and then recounted the three follow-on attacks of the US Embassy in Beirut. An undersecretary from SecDef also spoke about how important our cooperation with the Government of Lebanon is to US interests in the region.

After the memorial service, all USG employees in my office returned to work with a more focused sense of duty and conviction.

Rest In Peace Teufel Hunden.