In the summer of 1982, at the request of the Lebanese government, the United States agreed to establish a U.S. military presence in that country 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.

Initially, the U.S. Forces, along with French and Italian Forces, provided a measure of stability; however, as diplomatic efforts failed to achieve a basis for a lasting settlement, the Moslem factions came to perceive the Marines as enemies. This led to artillery, mortar, and small arms fires being directed at the Marine Corps positions - with appropriate, measured response being taken against identified targets.

In the early morning of October 23, 1983, the First Battalion, 8th Marines Headquarters building was destroyed by a non-Lebanese, terrorist-driven truck, laden with compressed gas-enhanced explosives. This truck, like many others, had become a familiar sight at the airport and so did not raise any alarm on this morning. The resulting explosion and the collapse of the building killed 241 Marines, sailors, and soldiers.

Source: The Beirut Memorial Online

“I went down the stairs — the same stairs we’d sat on the night before to watch a show. The whole area was filled with rubble and pulverized cement. It was everywhere as far as you could see. I saw what looked like an uprooted tree with jagged limbs. As I came closer I realized it was a human body because blood was running from the limbs.”

—Major Bob Jordan

President Reagan's Speech to the Nation
President Reagan's televised addess to the United States of America, speaking of both the terrorist bombing in Lebanon and the Grenada invasion, October 27, 1983.

"This Cedar Of Lebanon Tree Grows In
Living Memory Of The Americans Killed
In The Beirut Terrorist Attack And All
Victims Of Terrorism Throughout The World

Dedicated During The First Memorial
Ceremony For These Victims
Given By No Greater Love
October 23, 1984
A Time Of Remembrance"

Arlington National Cememtary

We Remember Them... 241 Who Died

Click image to enlarge.

Source: Photo from the Long Commission Report/ U.S. Marines in Lebanon 1982-1984, History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S.M.C., Washington, D.C.
Comment: A low oblique of the U.S. Marines' BLT Headquarters building, before the October bombing.

Photo courtesy of Judy Young/ U.S. Marines in Lebanon 1982-1984, History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S.M.C., Washington, D.C.
Comment: As viewed from Marine positions in the southeast sector of the 24th MAU perimeter, smoke rises from the devastated BLT headquarters building in this photograph taken within seconds after the blast occurred.

Source: Photo from the Long Commission Report/ U.S. Marines in Lebanon 1982-1984, History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S.M.C., Washington, D.C.
Comment: The U.S. Marines' BLT Headquarters building, after the October bombing.

Date: November 4, 1983
Source: Photo C18095-4 from the official Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Comment: President Reagan and Mrs. Reagan attend a memorial service for Lebanon and Grenada casualty victims, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Source: Lt. Upton, USMC / Public Affairs Office, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
Comment: Beirut memorial with inscribed words "THEY CAME IN PEACE".