Largest non-nuclear explosion on record hits Beirut ... · Largest non-nuclear explosion on record hits Beirut Marines, 25 years ago "We lost a lot of Marines that day." By Ed Marek,

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Largest non-nuclear explosion on recordhits Beirut Marines, 25 years ago

"We lost a lot of Marines that day."

By Ed Marek, editor

November 16, 2008

Those who were there provide us some advice

General James T. Conway, Commandant of the Marine Corps,sent a message to all Marines on October 15, 2008 and askedthem to pause for a moment to remember their lost brothersfrom Beirut. The Beirut Veterans of America say this:

"The first duty is to remember."

Part of remembering is to translate what happened then towhat we face today. Several Beirut veterans have done this,very well in my view. Let's listen.

Navy CPO Mark Hacala was aNavy corpsman at the time. Hestruck a chord with me, sayingthis years later:

“What people don’t realizeis that there was a groundwar going on. Thebombing is one element.To the rest of the world, itwas an incident without context.

"I think many of us wonder, had we taken a firmstand and a firm response at that time, all theseother attacks that took place against us in thecoming decades, would they have been tried?Would they have been attempted?

Brigadier General James M.

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Beirut Bombing Marines file:///Users/edmarek/Documents/Talking%20Proud/HistoryBei...

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Lariviere, USMC, who served asa reconnaissance platooncommander in Beirut, has saidthat this attack was the beginningof America's war against Islamicterrorism. He would also saythis:

"They came in peace and died in a blindinginstant, and their names are seared into our mindsand into the pages of history. As we who live oncontinue to fight against Islamic terrorism inplaces like Iraq and Afghanistan, let us bemindful of their service and their sacrifice aquarter century ago. And in doing so, we pledgethat we will be Semper Fidelis, always faithful.”

Retired Marine Major BobJordan was there and agrees,adding a little zest to thegeneral's observation:

"We were being tested, andwe failed the test (angrythat the Marines were toldto withdraw and there wasno retaliation). (This was)the first skirmish in ... the battle against terror ...We need to understand that these people believein what they are doing ... We need to understandthat they are willing to die for it and willing to killus to achieve it."

During an interview with the Marines, Jordan made thesecomments:

"When the Marines pulled out in 1984, Osama binLaden and many others were watching. They hadtested us militarily. They had tested us spiritually.They had tested us politically ... We stood againsttyranny. We stood against terror. And we have toremember, make the people, who, who, who wishus harm, they need to know we were not defeatedin Beirut. We're still here. And our sons and ourdaughters, and our grandsons and granddaughterswill be told this story, and they will be here forgenerations in the future. And that's the hope ofAmerica."

In yet another interview, Jordan said this:


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“It was too few to be a force and too many to be apresence. They took away our one great strategyand that is our maneuverability. The Israelisinsisted we be placed near the airport. They feltour presence there would keep the airport open.What it did was put us in a static position … withthe ocean to our back and the mountains to ourfront ... We were dedicated to a noble but naivemission, but we weren’t allowed to complete it.We now see our children and grandchildrenfighting what we would have liked to havefinished.”

And I found him yet again saying this:

"We went in, in '82, and everything was dictated... All of that worked against us ... I think if wehad made the stand then, we would not be makingit now ... They (the enemy) were not successfulwith the Marines. They were not successful withthe American public at large. They weresuccessful with the politicians."

Donald "Gunny" Inns, a Beirutveteran, would later write:

"Everything I need toknow about Mideastmadness, i.e., Islamicextremists, militants,terrorists, I learned as aMarine stationed in Beirutin 1983. They will kill asmany Americans as weallow them to. Because,historically, many of those Americans killed weremembers of our military, and the attacks occurredoverseas, those protected here at home ignoredthis reality."

Joe Ciokon has said this:

"The general publicdoesn't understand, theseterrorists work together ...Every terrorist isconnected ... We are on thehunt, literally. We will findthem. It's just a matter oftime.


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"These guys (in Congress) saw everything and letit happen ... The colonel told them that 'there's noway I can protect my men in the environment thatyou've given me here.' Their reaction? 'You'redoing a good job. Don't worry about it.'"

David Maderas was a Pfc in theattack and has provided thisadvice:

"That's their playbook.They built their playbookover time, and, ah, and ah,I would call it like a cult. Acult who is following anideology and they're building their playbookbased on how we respond to certain things. And, Imean, they're taking notes. The prevent defenseprevents nothing. And if that's the posture wewanna take, in the United States, okay, I'd like toask the people who think that way to come downto Jacksonville and stand there next to a motherwho lost one of their kids in Beirut and explain toher how we should take a preventive posture.

"In the United States a lot of times, we fall asleep.They do something, and then they let it die out,you know, we're all excited about, you know, theprice of gasoline or, you know, whatever the topicof the day is, and we totally lose sight of an issuethat really has a lot of substance to it.

Lt. Col. Gerlach, USMC (Ret.) isstill in a wheel chair but he isalive and well, and commentedthis way:

"And I hate war. But bydamn, if we don't take astand, just imagine whatwould have happened inWWII and how thatwould've turned out and allthe other wars that have gone on.

Jay Farrar, a former Marine captain who served in Beirut, saidthis:

"You don't half step it. You deal swiftly and witha tremendous amount of force."


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You remember Randy Gaddo.Since the bombing, he has saidthis:

"There is a directconnection between theterrorists responsible forthe Beirut bombing and themurderers responsible forSeptember 11th, 2001. We have come to realizethat the Beirut Bombing was the first major shotfired in the Global War on Terror. We made it ourlife’s mission to never let America forget that 270good men died in Lebanon in the name of peaceand freedom.

“Terrorism is not something that started in Beirutand it’s not something that stopped afterSeptember 11th. Terrorists call it an Islamic holywar. There’s nothing holy about it and to call itthat is an affront to peaceful, law abiding peopleof the Islamic faith. They have chosen to interprettheir holy book in such a way as to justify theircriminal activity. Terrorism is a crime againsthumanity on a global scale, pure and simple. It ishomicide, murder of innocent men, women andchildren.”

Colonel Chuck Dallachie was there as a first lieutenant andwas injured. He is now the commander of the QuanticoMarine Corps base, and has remarked this way:

"The Marine Corps considers this a black eye.There’s the impression we were caught with ourpants down.”

Bill Kibler, a Beirut veteran, has said this:

“It’s imperative that the public realize, the war onterror did not start on September 11, but it startedon October 23. A lot of Marine veterans feel likethat.”

Colonel Geraghty has also saidthese things:

"This started a wholeseries of the suicide truckbombings that just becamethe favorite weapon of the


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Islamic extremists ... Bin Laden was inspired bythe success of the simultaneous coordinatedsuicide bombings in '83, and they didn't have thatexpertise before Mughniyeh*and Osama binLaden met in Sudan in 1996.

"Forensics done afterward by FBI and others[show] that this was the largest non nuclearexplosion on record. It guaranteed masscasualties. There was no way we could havestopped that bomb in that environment ... Wewere in the middle of an active internationalairport and really didn't have control of the peopleand vehicles entering and exiting. From the firstday there, I was uneasy with that location (hewould later say it was abominable location). Itwas selected for diplomatic and political reasons ayear earlier. (It was) a static location surroundedby hills with over 600 tubes of artillery (that)could be brought to bear on us.

"Who would have thought, 25 years later, here weare (fighting) essentially the same crowd? Theenemy learned: Terrorism works.”

* Imad Fayez Mughnieyh is said to have been the mastermindbehind the Beirut bombing. He was killed in Damascus forreasons that are not publicly known.

Tony Sutton said the attack was "one of those definingmoments in life. After that day, everything changed.

General P.X. Kelley, Commandant USMC at the time, told aremembrance gathering in 2006 that people such as those whoattacked the 1-8 on October 23, 1983, must be punished. Hesaid:

“I will have little sleep until that happens.”


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Judy Young with Beirut Memorial Wreath. This wreath was created by Mrs.Young, and it was created with 273 roses for each Marine, Sailor, and Soldierwhose name is on the wall of the Beirut Memorial. Presented by Courier Postonline.

I'll close out with this comment from Judith Young, whoseson, Sgt. Jeffrey Young was killed in the enemy bombingattack:

"It was forgotten two weeks after it happened. Noone really knows or understands what happenedin Beirut anymore ... Everybody remembers 9-11,but so many have forgotten about October 23,1983. Just because they were there aspeacekeepers doesn’t mean they need to beforgotten.”

GySgt John Snyder, USMC (Ret.) agrees. He's now a thirdgrade teacher and hopes our children learn about the bombingand carry the story forward:

"I worry that the children that I now teach will notteach their children of the day so many goodMarines died. For as sad as that day was, it wouldbe sadder still if the sacrifice of so many trueheroes was lost to history forever."

Introduction

Historical background

24th MAU arrives in Beirut, 1-8 Marines embarked

In their own words, the Marines and Sailors who were there


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Photos of the devastation

The first duty is to remember - The 25th Remembrance

Those who were there provide us some advice


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