Remembering those lost in airport attack

Only veterans and some elderly people will probably remember the 1983 bombing in Beirut, Lebanon.

There were U.S. soldiers, Marines, and sailors there on a peacekeeping mission, along with some French troops. It was Oct. 23, 1983, when U.S. troops were awakened at 6:22 a.m. when a suicide bomber drove a truck into the barracks housing U.S. peacekeeping forces at Lebanon's Beirut International Airport.

A total of 220 Marines, 18 sailors, and three Army soldiers were killed in the blast. In addition, just minutes after this suicide bombing, another bombing at the same airport hit the French barracks, killing 58 French troops and six civilians.

The U.S. withdrew its troops in 1984 after 18 months there, having lost a total of 238 Marines and an additional 151 wounded.

One marine said that he saw a body being carried on a stretcher, but there wasn't a body part above the belt buckle. Another said, "Marines are trained to be aggressive, but … we couldn't even lock and load our weapons."

Roger Gregory is a Vietnam veteran and business owner in Priest River.