In 1982, at the request of the Lebanese government, the United States established a peacekeeping force between Muslims and Christians in Beirut. The Muslim forces however viewed the soldiers as their enemies and frequently attacked them with artillery and mortar. On October 23, 1983 a large Islamic Jihad truck loaded with 2,500 pounds of TNT crashed through the main gate of the U.S. Marine Headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon killing 241 USA Army, Marine and Navy servicemen and wounding 81. Two minutes later another Islamic Jihad truck packed with explosives crashed into a French base two miles away killing 58 soldiers.The attacks were carried out by Hizballah with the help of Syrian intelligence and financed by Iran. (Marine barracks bombing picture; National Archives.)
The names of the murdered American soldiers who died on that atrocious day can be seen here.
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