In the summer of 1982, at the request of the Lebanese

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In the summer of 1982, at the request of the
Lebanese government, the United States agreed to
establish a U.S. military presence in Lebanon to
serve as a peacekeeping force in the conflict
between warring Moslem and Christian factions.
On March 24, 1983, the 24th Marine Amphibious
Unit, stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina,
received orders to Beirut, Lebanon in support of
that commitment.
The Marines will.. provide a presence in
Beirut, that would in turn help establish the
stability necessary for the Lebanese government
to regain control of their capital." Department
of Defense Report
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Marines on the roof of a Lebanese University
building view an artillery round impacting near a
Company A, BLT 1/8, position on the MAU perimeter
in late September 1983.
1983. Marines guard the streets of Beirut
Lebanon.
1983. Marines guard airport at Beirut Lebanon.
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On the alert, Marine machine gunners survey the
scene on front of their positions.
The Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 8th
Marine Regiment, barracks. A USO band performed
for the Marines. The next morning a suicide
bomber destroyed the barracks and killed 241
Marines, Sailors, and Soldiers. Photo by Randy
Gaddo   
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On 18 April 1983 the U.S. Embassy in Beirut
Lebanon was bombed by a suicide bomber. This
attack killed over 60 people, mostly embassy
staff members and U.S. Marines and Sailors. It
was the deadliest attack on a U.S. diplomatic
mission up to that time, and is seen by some as
marking the beginning of anti-U.S. attacks by
Islamist groups.
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• 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."

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The 1983 terrorist attack on the Marines was the
bloodiest day in the Corps' history since World
War II, when Marines fought to secure Iwo Jima.
Rescue and clean-up crews search for casualties
following the barracks bombing in Beirut on
October 23, 1983. Photo by SSgt Randy Gaddo,
USMC
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The blast that destroyed the Marine Barracks,
Beirut, Lebanon was at that time the single
largest non-nuclear explosion on earth. Soon
after the explosion, U.S. Marines and American
Allies frantically began rescue operations.
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A view of the crater made in the first floor of
the MAU BLT headquarters building by the
explosion of the truck bomb which devastated the
structure on 23 October 1983. The arrow points to
a crankcase, all that remained of the truck after
it was detonated.
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Vice President George H.W. Bush surveyed the
carnage two days after the bombing, with
Commandant of the Marine Corps P.X. Kelley (left)
and Col. Tim Geraghty (right), the 24th MAU
commander.
A single stretcher bears the words 24th MAU
They Came in Peace.
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A Marine wipes a tear from his eye as he avoids
sniper fire being placed on the rescue teams
searching for survivors in the bombed BLT
headquarters building.
24th MAU Chaplain George W. Pucciarelli shows the
strain and stress of the bombing. Photograph by
Mike Lyongo, Black Star
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A Nation in mourning
4 November 1983 President Reagan Mrs. Reagan
attend a Memorial Service for Lebanon Grenada
casualty victims, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
President Ronald Reagan (far left) and First Lady
Nancy Reagan pay their respects to the caskets of
the victims of the attacks.
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Immediately following the tragedy, the residents
of Jacksonville, NC, expressed an outpouring of
grief and support for the families and loved ones
of the Marines and Sailors who had been killed.
Today, near the entrance to Camp Johnson, a
memorial wall now permanently stands. The wall
was completed on 23 October 1986 and bears a list
of those Americans who died in Lebanon. Only
four words are inscribed on the wall They Came
in Peace. In 1988 the statue of a lone Marine
keeping vigil over his fellow Marines was added
to the wall. The statue of the Marine is
represented on this page. Along the center
median of Highway 24 in Jacksonville, NC, stands
241 Bradford pear trees, one for each man killed
in the explosion.
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25 Years Later We Came in Peace By Colonel
Timothy J. Geraghty, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired)
In a Proceedings exclusive, the commanding
officer of the Marine unit devastated by the
suicide bombing of its barracks in Beirut
recounts the horror of that October day 25 years
ago and calls it a seminal event in the war
against Islamist extremists.
This 23 October, when families and friends
gather for this year's remembrance, will again
remind us of those dedicated peacekeepers who
never came home. They were denied the joy of
raising a family, pursuing their dreams, and
enjoying the blessings of America. Amid the
renewals of friendship, hugs, and tears, there
always lingers an undercurrent of deep sorrow and
anguish that hasn't lessened 25 years later. The
peacekeepers' valor and sacrifice will never be
forgotten.
Colonel Timothy J. Geraghty, U.S. Marine Corps
(Retired)
http//www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/story.a
sp?STORY_ID1616
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Semper Fidelis
The images and information contained in this
presentation are intended to be used for the
non-profit education and training of U.S. Marines.