Tuesday 23 October 2012

They Came in Peace.

It happened on this day, 29 years ago.

At 0620, a truck loaded with 12,000 lbs of TNT smashed through fences and a gate outside the US Marine barracks at the Beirut Airport. The truck bomb detonated at the BLT headquarters, literally lifting the entire building from its foundations. As the building settled back into the cavity where the concrete support pillars once were, it collapsed, killing scores of Marines, sailors and soldiers almost instantly. Entire platoons wiped out while they were resting in the relative comfort of the BLT HQ. Officers and enlisted alike, killed, as they went about their daily duties. In all, 241, dead, many more injured.

The last survivor was pulled from the rubble, 52 hours later.


Rest in peace, gentlemen.




Iceman out.

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