Survivors of Beirut Bombing Remember Marines Lost

33 years after Beirut bombing, a survivor remembers
WNCT News 9
By Elizabeth Tew
Published: October 21, 2016

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (WNCT) – The 33rd anniversary of the 1983 Beirut bomb blast is this weekend and in Camp Lejeune it’s a date that hits close to home. Many of the bombing victims were deployed from Lejeune, including retired Marine Dan Joy, who survived the harrowing experience.

“We were sent to Lebanon as peacekeepers to assist the United Nations forces,” Joy said. “We became enemy combatants because different factions thought we were taking sides.”

Joy was a member of the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. Early on October 23, 1983, the battalion’s headquarters building was bombed.

“They built car bombs and drove one into our headquarters,” Joy said. “There was rubble and remains of our Marines and soldiers. Marines were just lifting concrete and using crow bars and trying to get to the voices.”

On Sunday, an observance will be held here at the Beirut Memorial in Jacksonville to those men.
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"VA Lying" Veteran Breaks With Group

Too bad that veterans have been aware for decades about the troubles they have all along. So much for raising "awareness" of what the realities actually are.

Local veteran behind two billboards before breaking with 'VA IS LYING' group
Daytona Beach News Journal
By Mark Harper
October 28, 2015

Roger Gagnon stands along Interstate 95 in September in front of one of two 'VA is Lying' billboards he paid for to express his dissatisfaction with the agency. The billboards have since been replaced.
News-Journal/David Tucker

ORANGE CITY — At the back of an RV park just off Interstate 4, Roger Gagnon — a disabled ex-Marine — has his "little corner of paradise," a camper he shares with his 9-pound dog Nicky.

The solitude suits him. A self-described alcoholic in recovery, Gagnon said he has maintained sobriety for years but still suffers the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder and seizures.

The past several months have brought anything but peace.

Gagnon blames the Veterans Administration for a three-week coma, then refusing to pay for his nursing care while he was recuperating in April. He started posting on a Facebook page, VA IS LYING, where other veterans and their families vent about the $169 billion agency and collaborate to help one another get help with care and claims.

Back stateside, he left his unit, was declared a deserter and was not sent back with his unit after the infamous Oct. 23, 1983, bombing of the Marine barracks. When he returned to the Marines in December, he was put in handcuffs and sent to the brig. He was discharged in 1984, his service records show, and he said he entered the VA's care in 1986.
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1983 Beirut Barracks Bombing Remembered at Camp Lejeune

Remembering Camp Lejeune Marines killed in 1983 Beirut Barracks bombing
Examiner
Susy Raybon
Military Community Examiner
October 23, 2014

Yesterday’s attack in Ottawa, Canada, is another ugly reminder that there will always be radicals and extremists in the world who, by acts of terrorism, commit horrific deeds. One of the first and most deadly to American servicemen happened at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983.

Thirty-one years ago, today, 220 Marines of the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines of Camp Lejeune were killed in the worst attack on the U.S. Marine Corps since Iwo Jima in World War II.

The American death toll that day was 241 servicemen; besides the 220 Marines, 18 were Navy and three were U.S. Army. The French also suffered the loss of 58 of their peace-keeping servicemen that day.

That deadly attack by suicide bombers in explosives-laden trucks marked the beginning of an era of terrorism not quite realized in the world before. Many of today’s Marines were not even born when that attack occurred.

In July of this year, some of those troops’ surviving family members were awarded a small restitution for their loss.

A settlement of $1.7 million from the Iranian government was awarded to 1,300 families who lost loved ones in the attack. The award brought an end some 13 years of legal wrangling.
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USMC Sgt. Mecot Camara Remembered in Longwood Florida

USMC Sgt. Mecot Camara Fence Installation

Sun. Mar 30 - Honoring the memory of this warrior who was one of the casualties of the bombing of the October 1983 Beirut Barracks bombing.

220 Marines, 18 sailors and three soldiers were killed in what VFW Magazine called “the highest loss of life for the Marine Corps in a single day since D-Day on Iwo Jima in 1945.”

4pm, Sommerville Kids Klub, 1665 EE Williamson Rd, Longwood, 32779. Celebration immediately following at Mulligan’s, 165 Wekiva Springs Rd, Longwood, 32779.

American Brother Elisa Camara Thompson

American sister's tribute to American Brother

This afternoon I met a fabulous lady Elisa Camara. Her brother was killed in the Beirut Marine Barracks bombing. The lady standing next to her has a son serving in Afghanistan right now.

American Brother by Elisa Camara.

We talked for a while and I was so impressed with her that I plan on buying her book.

Decorated Marine putting his life back together

Decorated Marine putting his life back together
Daytona Beach News Journal
By Eileen Zaffiro-Kean
Published: Sunday, December 15, 2013

DAYTONA BEACH — What were you doing the morning of Oct. 23, 1983? You probably can’t remember. Steve Gildow can’t forget.

About 6:20 a.m. that day, Gildow went from a peaceful slumber under the covers to a hellish scene of dismembered and dying men after a truck carrying thousands of pounds of TNT smashed into the building where he was staying and collapsed the four-story structure into a pile of flaming rubble.

Gildow was a 23-year-old Marine back then, stationed in Beirut as the Lebanese Civil War waged on and a group calling itself Islamic Jihad decided to create the truck bomb that killed 241 American servicemen.

Gildow survived the blast along with 114 other wounded Americans, but he’s left with one scar where a piece of metal went through his stomach and another scar where the waking nightmare pierced his psyche.

“I think that’s where my post traumatic stress disorder started,” the now 53-year-old Daytona Beach man said.

A few decades would pass before Gildow realized he had PTSD, and started to understand how it made his life slowly unravel. But first he would serve in more conflicts and peace-keeping missions that often get lost when other U.S. soldiers are honored for their time fighting in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

“We’re the forgotten ones,” said Gildow, who was involved in special operations and was awarded two Purple Hearts and two Humanitarian Medals.
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Shame on NBC Nightly News

Just got done watching NBC Nightly News and not happy. How could they not even mention the ceremony at Camp Lejeune and 30th year the lives were lost in Beirut were remembered?

Obama Honors Beirut Bombing Victims, Families, Comrades
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Oct. 23, 2013

In a statement marking the 30th anniversary of the suicide bombing of a Marine barracks in Beirut, President Barack Obama honored the fallen service members, their families and the survivors who worked to free the victims from the rubble.

Here is the president’s statement:
Thirty years ago today, 220 Marines, 18 sailors, and 3 soldiers lost their lives to a Hizballah suicide bomber who attacked the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. Minutes later, 58 French paratroopers lost their lives when a second Hizballah suicide bomber attacked the French barracks.

This despicable act of terrorism was the deadliest single-day death toll for the U.S. Marine Corps since the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima. Our Marines and their fellow service members were serving in Beirut as part of a multinational force during the Lebanese civil war, to help bring stability to a troubled region and to defend our strategic interests in the Middle East. They came in peace.

Our 241 service members will be remembered in ceremonies at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, at the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon, and in homes around the United States. We join with the families and their loved ones in paying tribute to the fallen and in sharing our deep appreciation for the ultimate sacrifice made in service to our nation. We also honor the courage and bravery of those warriors who survived the attack and spent days digging their brothers out of the rubble. They were faithful to their comrades in arms and served with honor and distinction in the finest tradition of the U.S. military.

The proud history of the U.S. military continues today as our service members risk their lives around the world to promote freedom and security and to deter terrorism. We are grateful for their sacrifices and honored by their commitment to defending our nation, our citizens, and our values. We also renew our commitment to promoting Lebanon’s stability, sovereignty, and independence and to our partnership with the Lebanese Armed Forces. We continue to support the Lebanese people as they seek to form a government that reflects their aspirations and that will strengthen Lebanon’s ability to defend its national interests and meet its international obligations.

Thousands attend tribute for fallen at Beirut Memorial

Ceremony honors tragedy in Beirut with moment of silence
Update: Thousands attend tribute for fallen
Jacksonville Daily News
By Daily News staff
October 23, 2013

Thousands bowed their heads for a moment of silence during a Wednesday morning ceremony which marked the 30th anniversary of the terrorist attack in Beirut, Lebanon.

Following a somber candlelight vigil before sunrise at Lejeune Memorial Gardens, Marines and sailors of all generations joined family and friends of the fallen to commemorate the sacrifice that 241 young men made on Oct. 23, 1983 when a truck laden with explosives detonated at the Marine barracks in Lebanon.

The ceremony featured speeches from Jacksonville Mayor Sammy Phillips and Marine Col. Timothy Geraghty, the former commander of the 24th Marine Amphibious Unit. The official address was given by Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James Amos and featured former Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Alfred Gray Jr. as the guest speaker.
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UDATE From Stars and Stripes

Top Marine, survivors recall Beirut blast 30 years later

Marine barracks bombing, 30 years later

Marine barracks bombing, 30 years later
Cape Cod Times
George Brennan
October 20, 2013

CATAUMET — Shirley Douglass-Miller talks about her husband and a wide grin spreads across her face.

His 6-foot-4-inch, 220-pound frame. His warm, compassionate side collecting toys and delivering them at Christmastime through Toys for Tots. And those Saturday mornings "cooking up a storm" with his daughter, Gina, in the kitchen.

He was a fierce competitor — once breaking his leg in a pickup softball game in his mid-40s. "I was safe, wasn't I?" Douglass said to his wife when she questioned whether he could still play with the younger guys.

They are memories held close, like the handsome snapshots of him in dress blues.

Sgt. Maj. Frederick Douglass was gone too soon. One of 220 Marines, 18 sailors and three soldiers killed in a terrorist attack in Beirut, Lebanon, 30 years ago this week. Hundreds more were injured. Douglass, leader of the 1,200-member battalion, had just turned 47 a month earlier, six months shy of his retirement from the U.S. Marines — a military branch he embraced with the same passion he had for family.

"It was his job, and he loved it," his wife of 27 years said.
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Mass. victims of 1983 bombing remembered

Today, nine men from Massachusetts, victims of a terrorist attack in Beirut, Lebanon, 30 years ago, will be remembered by family and friends at a 1 p.m. rededication ceremony at the Massachusetts Beirut Memorial in Christopher Columbus Park in Boston's North End.

Along with the Sgt. Maj. Frederick B. Douglass of Cataumet, the ceremony will honor the memories of Capt. Michael S. Haskell, Lance Cpl. Thomas S. Perron, Lance Cpl. Bradley J. Campus, Lance Cpl. Michael J. Devlin, Lance Cpl. Sean R. Gallagher, Cpl. Richard J. Gordon, Sgt. Steven B. LaRiviere and Sgt. Edward J. Gargano.

The memorial, which had fallen into disrepair in part because skateboarders use it to perform tricks, has been fixed, but still needs work, Christine Devlin, chairman of the Massachusetts Beirut Memorial Fund, said. Devlin's son, Michael, was killed in the Oct. 23, 1983, attack.

"I think anybody who makes the ultimate sacrifice for the country should be remembered, no matter which war it's from," Devlin said. "I hope the next generation will keep this up." A fundraising dinner was held Saturday, which was attended by families of those who died. Devlin said $40,000 to $50,000 needs to be raised to fix the monument.

Checks can be made payable to: Massachusetts Beirut Memorial Inc., 211 Downey St., Westwood, MA 02090.

Marine, Beirut survivor shares memories of attack

29 years later: Beirut Marine shares memory of bombing
By Lance Cpl. Paul Peterson
2nd Marine Logistics Group
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C.

The 1983 terrorist attacks on the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, killed 241 American servicemembers and sent shockwaves through the Marine community.

The official national monument that honors those fallen servicemembers stands only minutes from the Camp Lejeune front gate and tells the world a short, humble message: “They came in peace.”

Approximately 30 Marines from Combat Logistics Battalion 6, 2nd Marine Logistics Group visited the Beirut Memorial Oct. 11, to ensure – even 29 years later – the legacy of the attacks and the mission in Lebanon remains strong in the minds of today’s generation.

“It was a traumatic time for the Marine Corps,” said Richard L. Ray, a retired gunnery sergeant who served at Camp Lejeune at the time of the bombings. “Whether it is one, two or 241, it is like you got a body blow to the stomach when you hear something like that.”
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Judge Awards $44 Million for '83 Beirut Attack

Judge Awards $44 Million for '83 Beirut Attack
March 29, 2012

Associated Press
by Frederic J. Frommer

WASHINGTON - A federal judge has awarded $44.6 million from Iran to victims of the 1983 suicide truck-bombing attack on U.S. Marines in Beirut. But the money will be difficult to collect. U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth awarded the money Wednesday to two servicemen who were injured, Jeffery Paul O'Brien and Daniel Lane Gaffney, and their family members. The lawsuit claimed that Iran was involved in the attack, which killed 241 servicemen. read more here

Veteran of Beirut bombing remembered after drowning death

Drowning victim remembered as a good man, former Marine by friends

By Don Lehman--dlehman@poststar.com

GLENS FALLS -- The Glens Falls man who drowned in a stream near Hovey Pond Park last weekend was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in Beirut in the 1980s, with friends saying he survived the 1983 barracks bombing there that killed hundreds.

Jeffrey Miswell was a disabled veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from his time overseas, according to his roommate, Randy Mlenar. Miswell was honorably discharged, he said.

Mlenar and a former neighbor of Miswell's said he was in the Marine Corps barracks that was bombed in October 1983, killing 241 U.S. servicemen and women. A 1983 Post-Star article confirmed he was in Beirut as a U.S. Marine at the time.

Miswell, 47, died Saturday night after he fell into a stream that drains Hovey Pond while fishing. He fell several feet off a concrete wall, and police don't know what caused him to fall.

Mlenar, a former Marine with whom Miswell lived in an apartment on Bay Street, fought back tears as he talked about his longtime friend.
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Drowning victim remembered as a good man, former Marine by friends

Ex-Marine biking to put stamp on Beirut bombing

Ex-Marine biking to put stamp on Beirut bombing
By Cori Bolger, cbolger@altoonamirror.com

PETERSBURG - Bolstered by clear weather and the beauty of fall foliage, Mike Bangert isn't slowing down on his 550-mile bicycle ride to honor those lost in the 1983 Beirut bombing.

After leaving Huntingdon County Oct. 10, Bangert rode to McConnellstown and then spent the next day riding mostly downhill from northern Maryland to Washington, D.C.

Calling on his cell phone earlier last week, Bangert said his trek on the 190-mile Chesapeake & Ohio Canal biking trail was easy, save for a sore behind.

''Wow, this is incredible,'' he said. ''I'm looking at the Potomac River, and the trail is just awesome.''

Bangert, a 45-year-old Petersburg resident and hobby cyclist, hopes to make it to Camp Lejeune Marine Corps base in Jacksonville, N.C., by Tuesday to attend the 25th anniversary ceremony of the Beirut bombing.

Jacksonville is home to the Beirut Memorial, a wall with the names of the 268 American service people killed by a car bomb in 1983 during the multinational peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. The blast mostly killed members of the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment.
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