Editorial
By Randy Gaddo
BVA Secretary, Founding VP and Root Scoop II Editor
It has come to my attention that some new associates of the Beirut Veterans of America, and possibly some not so new, have questions about the purpose of the BVA.
It is critically important that BVA members and associates understand the historical scope, the current purpose and the future goals of the organization so they can convey them accurately to others.
Bob Jordan is the founding president of the BVA. I am the founding vice president. When Bob Jordan called me at my Atlanta 6 th Marine Corps District office in 1992, he said he and a couple others were thinking about forming an organization. The organization was intended to be fraternal in nature, with a simple goal of ensuring that the men killed in Beirut were never forgotten. Thus the BVA was born with the motto, "Our First Duty Is To Remember."
Over time the motto remained but the vision of the original intent may have dimmed. As new members or associates got involved in the BVA, there was an inaccurate belief that the BVA was a political action group that should be fighting for veterans' rights or other non-fraternal issues. This was never intended. While the BVA board might consider supporting or endorsing such causes, direct initiation of such action by the board or members was never intended.
The BVA is primarily a coordination organization for those of us who share common experiences to communicate and join together in fraternal Remembrance. Our first and most important mission is to ensure that the American public never forgets that their servicemen lived a significant part of U.S. history, shed blood in the name of security for our country and died as heroes, with honor. We also stress the enormous role that families play in successful execution of national defense. Indeed, it is often the families who suffer the most.
Over the years since 1992, interest and participation in the BVA has ebbed and flowed. It is difficult to maintain an organization of this type and the further from the initiation point you get, the more challenging the task becomes. The BVA rallied up to and following the 2003 20 th Remembrance. Many new members joined, more people became interested. That interest has persisted.
It is actually quite impressive that we have managed to hold the BVA together for so long. Many other groups would have perished. It demonstrates that there is a strong will among us to stay connected and continue to honor our deceased heroes.
Right now, there are many good, talented people –Root Vets, family members, children, siblings and friends of Root Vets – who want to get involved. We have come to a unique crossroads in BVA development. The current situation in Beirut, so reminiscent of our earlier involvement there, has again focused attention on the BVA. We have been getting a lot of media interest in interviews with Root vets and their families. They want to know how we feel seeing Marines once again stepping on to Lebanese soil. The fact that it's the 24 th MEU and BLT 1/8 makes it all the more poignant. They want to know about the BVA.
As we move towards holding the 23 rd Remembrance we can expect that this interest will continue. This is not the time for us to be divided on our purpose. It is a time to be united in purpose. I would ask that if you speak to media or the public, or even friends or family, about the BVA, keep it simple and keep it positive. We are a brother and sisterhood. We are family. We exist as a BVA family to ensure that our brothers who died for our freedom shall never perish from the memory of America.
If we keep that uncomplicated vision at the forefront, together we can move the BVA to higher levels of existence in the future.
As the proposed resolution against the Republic of Iran moves through to the House, I was perplexed on how/why the scope of the plaintiffs regarding the U.S. District Court lawsuit was narrowly defined. There seemed to be an apparent disconnect/inequity.
601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
South Bldg
Suite 900
Washington, DC 2004-2601
Jake Schneider
850-776-1884
Marines Return To Beirut
Beirut Veterans View Deployment with Pride, Apprehension
A subtle and ironic event has occurred in the Middle East that most Americans have missed, but U.S. Marines worldwide are watching with reverence, and some apprehension. Marines are back in Beirut.
Nearly 23 ago U.S. Marines stepped proudly back onto Navy ships after two years of increasingly intense "peacekeeping" duty in Beirut, Lebanon. The Marines deployed, along with sailors and a small number of soldiers, to that war-torn land in 1982 as part of a multi-national peacekeeping force. When they marched out in 1984, 270 servicemen had been killed in action and hundreds more wounded. On October 23, 1983 the Marines experienced their largest loss of life in hostile territory since the Vietnam War when a terrorist truck bomb destroyed a barracks and killed 220 Marines, 18 sailors and 3 soldiers. The Marines were with the First Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, part of the 24th Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU).
The subtle part of this event is that the Marines are back in Beirut to evacuate U.S. citizens as Lebanon continues to earn its title as a war-torn land. The ironic part of the event is that it is once again Marines of the First Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, now called the "Beirut Battalion," who have drawn this duty. Once again they are part of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU is the new designation for MAU).
This causes a range of mixed reaction among Marines, sailors and soldiers who served in the 1982-84 operation, as well as those who were involved in similar evacuation operations in Beirut in 1958 and again in 1976. That’s another lost historical fact that most people don’t know, that the U.S. has sent her sons into Beirut time and time again for the same reason, including another time in 1903. Fortunately, none of those operations resulted in loss of life.
But, among 1982-84 Beirut Veterans, there is great pride in knowing that Marines in the battalion now known as the "Beirut Battalion" are able to return there to save American lives. Amid the same general chaos that existed in 1982 (and 1903, ’58 and ’76 for that matter), today’s Marines are once again called upon to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors who earned the battalion’s new moniker through blood, combat valor and loss of life.
The title "Beirut Battalion" is one that these 21st Century Marines wear with honor. Those veterans who helped earn it for them watch with the pride of a doting parent as these new Marines carry on a tradition they started.
But like parents, they also have apprehension and concern about the safety of their offspring. The seasoned Beirut Veterans don’t want to see them placed in the same untenable position they were put in all those years ago. They cringe when they hear talk of the possibility that a "multi-national peacekeeping force" is being considered.
The 1982-84 operation in Beirut represents a failure by the National Command Authority (NCA) to exercise due diligence in assigning, monitoring and updating a vague mission that was issued to combat units at sea and on the ground. In addition, the rules of engagement (ROE) were restrictive to a point of adversely affecting the ground commanders’ ability to protect their force, and they were not amended as the situation grew more and more threatening.
The Long Commission was convened in November 1983 by the Secretary of Defense to independently inquire into the October 23rd bombing. The commission was chaired by retired Admiral Robert L.J. Long and comprised of several senior Army and Marine Corps generals.
Their overall conclusion, published in a 141-page report, was that the U.S. contingent of the multi-national force "was not trained, organized, staffed or supported to deal effectively with the terrorist threat in Lebanon."
Further, they reported that a single set of rules of engagement providing specific guidance for countering the type of vehicular terrorist attacks that could be expected in the Beirut environment had not been issued to the Marine Amphibious Unit Commander. Marines weren’t supposed to give the impression that they were tactically deployed. None of the normal measures to protect the perimeter of the Marine compound were allowed, such as constructing heavy-duty obstacles to block access or having one single entrance guarded by heavy machine guns. As "peacekeepers" they were there to provide a "presence" amid several warring factions.
The rules of engagement would not allow Marines to carry loaded weapons. Magazines with ammunition in them were to be kept out of the weapons, in magazine pouches. If Marines were fired upon, they had to clearly know who was firing at them, verify that they knew the fire was intentional, then ask permission up their chain of command before they could consider protecting themselves.
Asking permission involved waiting for time-consuming communication, perhaps up to and including civilian leadership in Washington, D.C., all the while being fired upon in life-threatening positions. It took a great deal of discipline on the part of young Marine warriors who had been trained and conditioned to take the fight to the enemy.
And the un-amended mission statement and ROE contributed to a mindset that detracted from the readiness of the U.S. ground commanders to respond to the terrorist threat.
Not long after this report was published, in February of 1984, Marines and other service members were pulled out, except for a few left at the embassy. Too little, too late, some say. Actually, another sailor and one more soldier were killed after that when the embassy was bombed again in September 1984.
Peacekeeping was a brand new type of mission back in 1982, especially for Marines. It was new to the NCA as well, and the mistakes they made in Washington caused deaths in Beirut. Marines learned a lot of lessons in Beirut, and they incorporated many of the lessons learned into subsequent training and operations.
Beirut Veterans hope that today’s civilian leaders in the National Command Authority learned, and have retained, some of those lessons as well.
The peacekeeping role has been refined and standardized somewhat since 1983, but it is still a dangerous undertaking – more so for those on the ground than those in Washington. There are some places and some situations where peacekeepers can truly accomplish what is intended – to give disagreeing sides the opportunity to sort our their differences and settle their disputes. History has proven that Beirut is not one of those places and the current situation doesn’t appear to be favorably disposed for successful peacekeeping.
So, unless something changes drastically, Beirut Veterans hope that the National Command Authority does not repeat mistakes of the past. We hope that they allow the Marines to conduct the noncombatant evacuations, which is a skill the Marines have honed to a fine edge. Once all Americans are safely out of the turmoil, we hope the Marines are pulled back onto their amphibious ships as diplomatic approaches are investigated to resolve the most current Beirut crisis.
We hope that our new Beirut Veterans of the Beirut Battalion will be allowed to complete their mission safely and successfully, then march out of harms way. And while history can be allowed to repeat itself to a certain degree, we implore the NCA not to repeat historical mistakes and place our Marines in a no-win peacekeeping environment in Beirut.
Editor’s Note: Gaddo is a retired Marine who served in Beirut in 1983 and is a founding officer of the Beirut Veterans of America (BVA). The BVA is a 900-member-and-growing fraternal organization whose mission is to honor the memories of their fallen heroes and whose motto is "The First Duty Is To Remember." Gaddo is currently director of parks, recreation and library services in Peachtree City, Georgia.
This is Jeff Schogol with Stars and Stripes.
The 1/8 Marines, which was attacked in 1983, is heading to Lebanon as
part of evacuation efforts.
I would like to talk to any survivors of the 1983 attacks or families
who lost loved-ones in the bombings about what their thoughts are about
the unit heading to Lebanon. Feel free to e-mail me or call me at 703-692-1926.
Thank you very much.
Jeff Schogol
Remembrance Walk
Press Release May 16 th 2006
On Wednesday May 17 th 2006 at 12:00 pm Steve Ayers will begin a walk in Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan to honor the 241 Servicemen killed in the October 23 rd 1983 bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. He will complete 241 laps around the downtown business district from Dawson and Ashmun Street to Portage and Ashmun. The estimated distance is close to 110 miles. He will not sleep but will take breaks in front of Grooves Music on Ashmun Street. This is not a protest but a memorial, we are not accepting monetary donations but will offer a list of those killed in Beirut so that donations may be made in the name of a Fallen Veteran to any charity. For further information contact: Steven Ayers 906-253-1492
Also enclosed below is the information paper that will be available at the walk. Any consideration on this project will be appreciated.
I walk today for the ones who can not, I feel the wind on my face but they can not. I am not walking for myself, nor in my own name but the memory of those who died on October 23rd 1983 in Beirut Lebanon.
I walk because they died defending those who could not defend themselves. With each step I hope to remind each and everyone that they died at the hand of those who stand against all of the free world today. Terrorist, not Muslims but people who feel superior to others by killing innocent men, women and children everyday. They say it is for their God but he would never ask them to kill anyone much less a child.
I walk for the Americans who died that day but I remember the French Soldiers who died just 2 minutes after my Brothers. I am just one man and I need the support of all who despise the destruction this small number of Zealots have caused worldwide. Together we can defeat an enemy who would kill children at play, mothers at work or any of us while we carry out routine daily chores. We can not hide inside of our homes and allow more of our young men and women to carry this burden alone. We can send a message around the world that we will not tolerate these acts any longer and we will support those who hunt down and stop these murderers before they can commit anymore acts.
We have fought these types of zealots in the past and until we stand united we will fight them over and over. When they have received the message that no one supports their murderous ways then and only then will they have no where to hide.
I do not wish my name to be known only because it is not about me, it is about all of us and our way to honor those who died fighting these murders.
I am not afraid for myself but I do fear for our country and all peaceful countries around the world. I fear for the safety of those these terrorists claim to be fighting for because they will kill anyone to strike back at us, they have proven this time and time again in Iraq.
In Beirut a small group of these cowards planned the attack that changed the world forever, instead of meeting our troops on a field of battle they chose to drive a truck into a building where over 400 of our Servicemen slept, ate and read letters from home. This truck carried a bomb unlike any ever used by terrorists before, over 12,000 pounds of explosives ripped the building apart while my Brothers slept dreaming of returning home very soon. At 06:22 AM on the Morning of October 23rd 1983 the lives of all Americans were changed forever. 241 men died in their sleep, they went to Beirut as peacekeepers and came home as victims.
| Debra Reisert to head new membership committee |
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| I'm Ltcol Smith. On behalf of the BVA Board of Directors, Id like to make the following business announcements:
1. Membership Committee. Debra Reisert is Chair Woman of the BVA Membership committee. She will have a couple other volunteers assist her. We are in the process of getting all the materials to that she needs to manage the applications and the databasePlease be patient, this may take a week or two. If you have sent in monies to the BVA and not received your membership card please contact Debra. If you still have a check outstanding please contact Debra. Do not contact John, as he will forward your concerns to Debra.We are considering instituting a procedure to notify members when their membership is delinquent. Semper Fi, Here to serve. LtCol Smith You can contact Debra by email
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CLICK HERE FOR THE RICHMOND TIMES DISPATCH STORY
IMPORTANT NEWS FOR THE FAMILIES OF BEIRUT VETERANS
Howell veteran of Beirut wants mission honored
The former Marine and others are seeking a stamp to recognize service in Lebanon.
Bill Yontz of Howell mounts a "Beirut Veterans of America" logo on his truck. He's worried America will forget the peacekeeping mission -- and the friends he lost.
HOWELL -- Howell resident Bill Yontz is happy to see the support the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are receiving, and the heartfelt welcomes they get when they return home.
But it makes the reception he and his fellow Marines received and continue to receive when he returned from a peacekeeping mission in Beirut in 1983 all the more confusing and frustrating.
For 10 years, Yontz and a group of Marines have been trying to get the U.S. Postal Service to issue a stamp commemorating the peacekeeping mission. But they have hit a brick wall, despite a petition with more than 20,000 signatures and a U.S. House resolution.
It has left many veterans of Beirut angry and bitter.
Yontz, 43, served with the U.S. Marines as part of the international peacekeeping force in the city in Lebanon from 1982-84. More than 300 U.S. servicemen died in that conflict, which involved the biggest non-nuclear explosion and the largest terrorist attack up to September 11.
On the morning of Oct. 23, 1983, a truck packed with more than 20,000 pounds of high explosives broke through security at the international airport in Beirut, home to a U.S. Marine Corps barracks. The explosion killed 241
Marines.
"I knew about 15 people that were killed," said Yontz, who served as a truck driver with the deployed 24th Marine Amphibious Unit in Beirut from November 1982 to February 1983. "I also had some friends who were sleeping in tents nearby."
Yontz doesn't want those friends forgotten.
"The Gulf War veterans got a stamp," Yontz said.
Howell resident Dustin Mcinturff, 19, wasn't even born when Yontz and his fellow Marines were serving in Beirut. Still, he said a stamp could help raise awareness.
"They served their country and people died," Mcinturff said. "I don't really understand why they haven't gotten it yet."
The Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee, a group of civilians appointed by the U.S. postmaster general, recommends commemorative stamps using a set of criteria. Among them: "events of historical significance shall be considered for commemoration only on anniversaries in multiples of 50 years and only events, persons, and themes of widespread national appeal and significance will be considered for commemoration."
But Yontz and other veterans said that while Desert Storm and September 11 stamps do not meet that criteria, neither do the topics of stamps due out this year. They include spring flowers, American scientists, actor Henry Fonda and Jim Henson and the Muppets.
"It's just a two-sentence blurb in the history books because it wasn't significant," Yontz said. "It was a blurb on the TV, and it was over. It was just like September 11, but we were there attempting to complete a mission," he said.
U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman Rita Peer said she could not remember the Beirut stamp request.
The stamp advisory committee members "look at more than 50,000 designs a year, and they only choose 20 or 30," she said.
House Resolution 45 was introduced in January 2003, urging the Postal Service to issue a commemorative stamp. But the issue died when the 108th Congress ended just before the 2004 election.
It has not been introduced in the new Congress, and it's unclear how much impact a resolution would have, anyway, because the postmaster general has the exclusive and final authority to determine both subject matter and design of stamps.
But Yontz has not given up, and in addition to joining the Beirut Veterans of America, he continues a letter-writing campaign, soliciting signatures for the petition and searching for other Beirut veterans to further the cause.
The organization is also open to Marines who served a similar three-month peacekeeping mission in Lebanon in 1958.
"I want to see all of us get together," Yontz said. "We need more voices. We did what our country asked, and we were just tucked away and ignored."
Kevin Shopshire is a Metro Detroit freelance writer.
By Jennifer Reeger
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Orlando Mike Valore Sr. wanted desperately to see his oldest son, his namesake, officially become a Marine Corps colonel.
He and his wife planned a trip from their Slickville home to Tampa, Fla., where his son's promotion ceremony would take place June 5.
Planning wasn't easy. Orlando Valore had been very sick. His heart was failing. He had undergone quadruple bypass surgery.
Janice Valore had to get special permission from the airline so her husband could bring the oxygen tanks he relied on aboard the plane.
As the date got closer, Orlando Valore, whom everybody knew by the nickname "Lundo," got more and more excited.
"My husband kept saying, 'Are we leaving tomorrow? Are we leaving tomorrow?'" Janice Valore recalled.
Tomorrow came on June 3. But Lundo Valore never got to see his son, Orlando Mike Valore Jr., receive his colonel pins.
He died on the flight to Tampa.
"He died on his way to see his son," Orlando Mike Valore Jr., who goes by Mike, said. "He loved his kids, and I feel fortunate that I was no exception."
On the day Mike Valore was to receive his colonel pins -- his eagles -- he was at a funeral home in Delmont.
He placed the two pins on his father's lapels.
"My dad was coming down, and I wanted to pin those eagles on him so bad, but he didn't make it," Mike Valore said. "At the funeral home, I was hell-bent on giving them to him. He earned them too."
Last week, Mike Valore, 45, officially became a Marine Corps colonel, receiving his own eagle pins in a ceremony. His wife, Pat, was there. His mother videotaped the ceremony.
And while nobody could see Lundo Valore there, his wife said she felt him.
"I kept patting my shoulders that he was here with us and so proud," Janice Valore said.
Lundo Valore was proud of what his son had accomplished in a military career that has spanned more than 20 years.
Mike Valore grew up in Slickville but graduated from The Kiski School in Saltsburg. He wrestled his way to the Naval Academy, graduating in 1982.
He chose the Marine Corps and started his military career as a second lieutenant.
Just as he was entering the Marines, his younger brother, Terence Valore, enlisted in the corps.
The two got to spend time together when both were based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Terry Valore was sent to Beirut in 1983. Mike's unit was on its way to replace his brother's unit there in October of that year.
But instead of going to Beirut, Mike Valore's ship made a turn and headed to Grenada to settle the unrest there.
Mike Valore found out while on ship that his brother had been badly injured in the car bombing of a Marine barracks in Beirut.
Terry Valore was burned over 90 percent of his body and had to retire from the Marine Corps because of the severity of his injuries.
Mike Valore ended up in Beirut, picking through the remnants of the building where his brother almost died.
After that, Mike Valore spent time at Camp Lejeune and Norfolk, Va. From 1988 to 1991, he worked on computer data systems at the Pentagon.
"The plane that went into the building on 9/11 ripped through my old room," Valore said.
In 1991, he left the Marine Corps, opting to work as a civilian software engineer.
But in 1993, he decided to rejoin -- this time as a Marine reservist. His posts included the Pentagon, a company command in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Marine Corps headquarters in Virginia.
For 10 years he served in reservist status. But in 2003, Valore was activated and sent to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa -- home of United States Central Command.
He is the Marines force deployment officer at Central Command and is responsible for deploying Marines to Iraq and bringing them home when their 6-month tours are over.
Valore has directed the movement of more than 250,000 personnel and 4 million tons of equipment -- including 1,250 planes and 35 ships -- during four rotations so far.
He is constantly planning for another rotation. The corps will bring 25,000 men and women out of Iraq starting in August and will send another 25,000 into the country.
Rotations take about two months. And while Valore plans for the upcoming rotation, he's looking ahead to the next rotation in January.
If all goes well, fewer Marines may be sent in that first 2006 rotation.
"Iraq is pretty much almost there, being able to walk on its own," Valore said, pointing out that a constitution is being drafted.
And the Iraqi military is getting ready to defend its own country.
"Whenever they graduate and they're ready to fight and they're ready to deploy, we're providing some adviser teams for them," Valore said. "So the adviser teams integrate with them, and they're fully ready when we're ready to pull our troops out."
While Valore expects a significant draw down in troop strength during the next year or two, he said he believes the United States will be in Iraq for the foreseeable future.
"Knowing that Syria and Iran are still very contentious areas, we will probably have people there for the next 15 to 20 years," he said. "Not just to help Iraq out, but to keep those two countries from getting any more belligerent."
He's been to Kuwait four times this year working to execute the rotation plans. He'll go back in August.
"I'll be over there to help deal with the issues that arise: if a plane arrives late or if a unit is not ready to deploy or the tactical operation on the ground has changed a little and we have to adjust," Valore said. "I have to admit -- it's a rush. There are some tense moments. It's a 24 -hour job."
Mike Valore was in Kuwait in January when he got word of his promotion to colonel.
"To be honest with you, I never thought I'd make it this far," he said.
Right away, he called his wife and his parents.
"It was the news we had been waiting for," he said.
Plans were made for his promotion ceremony.
"My husband and I looked forward to this," Janice Valore said. "At times there's only so many slots they give out for this recognition and for him to get it -- it's great."
Mike Valore looked forward to his dad being a part of his big day.
Lundo Valore had been a cook and a truck driver in the Army during the Korean War.
"He was my dad. He was my mentor. I wanted so much for him to share the joy," Mike Valore said.
"My dad saw (what the military could offer) and in so many ways instilled that there's a lot of honor in doing that," he said. "He had served in the military as well, and he didn't turn out too bad either."
Mike Valore was on his way home from Kuwait on the day his parents were flying to Tampa.
Lundo Valore started having breathing problems an hour into the flight. The crew diverted to Savannah, but it was too late.
Mike Valore found out in a text message to his cell phone.
"My heart sank," he said.
His ceremony was cancelled. And he and his wife, Pat, headed home to Slickville to bury his father.
He presented the flag to his mom in honor of his dad's service. Lundo Valore was buried with the colonel pins his son gave him.
Last week, during a small ceremony, Mike Valore got his own set of pins to wear.
His mom and wife were there at his side.
"It was a little bittersweet. Dad wasn't there, but you have to move on," Mike Valore said.
Janice Valore said she knows her husband was there at the ceremony.
"I just felt a shield around me that my husband was there with me and enjoyed the moment," she said.
And she got pins of her own.
"My son came up and pinned me with eagles (at his home), thanking me," she said. "I said, 'Dad and I got you started, but you did the rest.'"
Specter, Saxton and Andrews Introduce Legislation to Protect Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism and Their Families
Monday July 11, 8:00 am ET
Convicted Terrorist States Will Be Forced to Pay Reparations
WASHINGTON, July 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), Congressman Jim Saxton (R-NJ) and Congressman Robert E. Andrews (D-NJ) have introduced bipartisan draft legislation entitled "Justice for Marine Corps Families -- Victims of Terrorism." This legislation will affirm Congressional support for the victims of state-sponsored terrorism and their families by providing the legal alternative needed for them to receive court ordered reparations from convicted states.
In October of 1983, a national tragedy occurred with the bombing of the United States Marine Corps Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. Two hundred forty-one United States Marines were killed as a result of a vicious act of terrorism. In March 2003, families with the Beirut Veterans of America brought suit against the government of Iran in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. A federal judge ruled that Hezbollah carried out the direct will of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its Ministry of Information and Security in this brutal act of terror.
"The families of the 1983 Beirut bombing victims have suffered greatly and have been denied compensation for their tremendous loss," Senator Specter, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said. "I urge the Congress to pass this legislation that will allow these families and others to seek justice in court, and send the message that the United States will not tolerate state-sponsored terrorism."
Currently, victims of state-sponsored terrorism and their families are not able to collect court ordered damages due to loopholes in existing U.S. laws, which are exploited by terrorist states. The proposed legislation will make the necessary changes to existing U.S. laws, allowing the Beirut families -- and all victims of state-sponsored terrorism and their families -- to receive the compensation they are justly owed.
"On behalf of the Beirut families, I would like to thank Senator Specter, Congressman Saxton and Congressman Andrews for their courageous efforts which will hold state sponsors of terrorism accountable for their actions and I encourage Congress to pass this critical legislation," said Lynn Smith Derbyshire who lost her brother, Captain Vincent Smith in this horrific attack. "This critical legislation is not only about justice; it's about deterrence. It is not only about holding the government of Iran accountable for the murder of 241 Americans; it is about depleting the enemy's resources so that they cannot hurt anyone else."
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Source: Beirut Veterans of America
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C.(Oct. 17, 2005) -- "These mist covered mountains
Are a home now for me
But my home is the lowlands
And always will be
Some day you’ll return to
Your valleys and your farms
And you’ll no longer burn
To be brother- in-arms"
They were more than names once. They were our fathers and husbands, our friends and sons. They were asked by their nation to stand a post in the center of a religious hellstorm they didn’t understand. They were Marines and they came in peace.
At approximately 6:22 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 23, 1983 in Beirut, Lebanon, a lone terrorist driving a yellow Mercedes-Benz stake-bed truck loaded with explosives accelerated through the public parking lot south of the 24th Marine Amphibious Unit Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 8th Marines headquarters building and penetrated into the lobby of the barracks there.
According to the official Department of Defense commission report, the force of the explosion [12,000 pounds of hexogen] ripped the building from its foundation. The building then imploded upon itself and almost all of the occupants were crushed or trapped inside the wreckage.
“It was one of the largest noises I’ve ever heard in my entire career,” said retired Marine Major Robert T. Jordan, the 24th MAU Public Affairs Officer at the time of the bombing. Jordan was in his rack in an adjacent building when the explosion split the still morning air and showered him with glass and pulverized concrete.
Recovering his senses, Jordan made his way into his press tent to find his Marines and located Press Chief Staff Sgt. Randy Geddo, who had been “blown out of his seat.” “He looked at me with these big, round eyes and said, ‘Sir, the BLT is gone.’”
“I crested a hill and looked down into the ground below and it was filled with debris,” remembered Jordan. “All that was left of the 5-ton truck was a 40 foot by 30 foot deep crater and a crank case in the bottom.”
"Through these fields of destruction
Baptisms of fire
I’ve watched all your suffering
As the battles raged higher
And though they did hurt me so bad
In the fear and alarm
You did not desert me
My brothers-in-arms"
Inside a tomb of twisted rebar, broken glass and slabs of concrete, hundreds of Marines, Sailors and Soldiers were fighting for their next breath. One of those was a 19-year old corporal who went from deciding what to have for breakfast to playing a starring role in his own nightmare.
“When the bomb exploded, there we’re no words to explain how loud it was,” said Master Gunnery Sgt. John Nash, 3rd Marine Division communications chief. “Everybody was buried. Cement, wood, everything was laying on top of us.”
Nash was one of the few trapped inside who was able to dig themselves out of the rubble. He escaped through the screams of pain, the calls for help and the panic of dying men. He did what he could to save the Marines around him.
“You’re thinking, ‘Who are we going to find next? Who is still alive? Why would anyone do something this devastating?’ We went there as peacekeepers. When we left, we left as victims,” said Nash.
Outside, Jordan was among the Marines who rushed to their fellow servicemembers. They did the best they could to save lives, but the day’s horrors seemed endless, said Jordan.
“We went into the debris and there were two Marines sitting side by side and they looked in shock,” said Jordan. “They were covered with dust and they were moaning. We couldn’t see any obvious wounds, so I reached down and grabbed one of them and my hand went into a huge hole in his back.
“At the end of the day, back at the press tent I walked in and heard someone call out, ‘Oh my God, he’s covered in blood. The blood had saturated my utilities. I looked up and replied, ‘Don’t worry, it’s not mine.’”
In the fading velvet light of the setting sun, at the back of a headquarters building, Jordan started to cry. He explained, “I couldn’t hold it in any longer.”
"Now the sun’s gone to hell
And the moon’s riding high
Let me bid you farewell
Every man has to die
But it’s written in the starlight
And every line on your palm
We’re fools to make war
On our brothers-in-arms"
There is nothing left now but the memories of 241 Marines and Sailors who gave their lives, the first casualties in the Global War on Terrorism.
“Our first duty is to remember, to acknowledge their sacrifice,” said Jordan. “There are a lot of men with stories similar to mine. They need to be recognized.”
“We can learn a great deal from our past,” added Nash. “This is our history. We must never forget the sacrifices that these 241 Marines and Sailors gave that terrible Sunday morning. They are all heroes and should always be remembered.”
Their names are now etched in stone. They are our brothers-in-arms and they died so that others know what freedom gives and what it takes. They did their duty. They were Marines. They came in peace.
Editor’s note: The lyrics used in this song were taken from Dire Straits’ 1985 song “Brothers-in-arms.”
Oct. 23, marks the 22-year anniversary of the Beirut bombing in Beirut, Lebanon
