America's first violent encounter with radical Islam

[ABNAK]

Oct. 23, 1983.

Guy second from the left was a year ahead of me in high school.

http://www.beirut-memorial.org/memor...ls-fluegel.jpg

I was in Infantry OSUT at Ft. Benning when that happened. Being in a controlled basic training environment we didn't get to see the nightly news. Didn't know about Stan until some time later. We weren't best buds or anything but I knew who he was and he seemed like a laid back kinda guy from what I recall. When I eventually heard his name I was like "I knew that dude."

You look at the faces. They've been dead for 36 years tomorrow. September 11, 2001 was round #2.

I will also add that Beirut shaped force protection measures from then on. You can bet your ass that the jihadis have been trying for the last 18 years to pull off another Beirut barracks-level event. It hasn't happened (thank God). It was a VERY hard-learned, costly lesson.

Hezbollah will always hold a dark place in my mind. (Islamic Jihad was a Hezbollah front group). Maybe that contributes significantly to why I f****g hate Iran to this day.

[chuckman]

I was thinking the Barbary pirates in Libya....

[just a scout]

I was thinking the Barbary pirates in Libya....

Me too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Averageman]

R.O.E. will kill you.
Every time I think about Beirut, it burns.

[Todd.K]

I was thinking the Barbary pirates in Libya....

That was regular everyday islam...

[ABNAK]

Sorry if some were disappointed, but the Barbary pirates were small change compared to 1983. That was the single largest loss of Marines (might be Army too, I haven't checked) in one day since Iwo Jima. Hell, in one incident it eclipses U.S. losses for a LONG time (forget in one day).

Just wanted to give a nod towards some guys who've largely been long forgotten.

[lsllc]

I was thinking the Barbary pirates in Libya....

Me three


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Straight Shooter]

I was on Parris Island. IF I recall, it was on a Saturday night.
Anyway...late Saturday night/Sunday morning, we were all in the rack sleeping.
WAY before reveille.the DI's came screaming in, even unlike anything we had heard before, saying."you think this is a joke..this is a game..this is bullshit"? ect, ect.
My Lord, they were PISSED. For the first time, they rolled in a small, very small tv with rabbit ears, cut it on, and filled us in on what had just happened.
If I recall, some of them had friends there.
Well, we were scared shitless, no doubt. As recruits..the "IM GONNA GET ME SOME" mentality was far from setting in yet.
Those DI's were truly, to the core of their souls, filled with murder & hate & rage & anger, of course rightfully so.
We knew then that shit was gonna hit the fan. Not withstanding what happened to the dead, wounded and all involved in the bombing of course, but they made it rough on us from then on to get us ready for what EVERYBODY thought was gonna be a sho' nuff war.
About two years later, I served with a few guys that were there, had some tape recordings of some gunfights & stories about this & that.
Those poor guys, many never knew what happened.
Ive loathed those Islamic bastards ever since.
THANK YOU brother ABNAK for the reminder.

[JoshNC]

I was thinking the Barbary pirates in Libya....

Yep that’s what I was expecting

[NWPilgrim]

Yeah Lebanon use to be a major resort destination for Europe and ME. Until the Islamists went on the war path. I believe the Marines were there just as “keepers of the peace” over watch. Trying to keep a lid on the inter faction fighting. Not allowed to have mags in their rifles on guard duty. As I remember Reagan pulled them out shortly afterward because it was either that or go full Monty invasion. Who knew how many more Islamic terror groups and nations we would be fighting the next 36 years? That was a truly dark day for some of America’s finest and for all of us.