I was a few months behind Phil, having been commissioned as a Marine 2ndLt a few weeks earlier, by my father. The ceremony took place near the seawall of my childhood home in Northern Illinois, with "my" lake as the backdrop. It was a limbo time between college and the Corps while I waited for my TBS class to start. I remember seeing news of the bombing on TV and felt the gravity of the event but not the whole story. I had just a few more weeks before I departed for Quantico. It felt like an eternity.
I live outside Quantico now, some 40 years later and drove to a conference in Chicago last week. While there, I had a chance to stand on that seawall where I spent so much time as a youth. Beirut was on my mind. I had just listened to the first ten or so hours of "Target: Beirut" on Audible and the current news was packed with reports of Israel striking Hezbollah in Lebanon. I wish I could have read this book in November of 1983. It's a well researched and well written history of the months leading up the attack and the days and weeks after. I highly recommend it. It drives home the importance of reading for context and the necessity for young military professionals to continually search for that context as they form their leadership styles and approach to tactical challenges. Three short years later, I embarked on amphibious shipping in the Mediterranean with 24th MEU as the BLT 2/4 Intelligence Officer.
“In the largest non-nuclear explosion at the time ever recorded, …”
Not to minimize the Beirut attack, but maybe check out:
Port Harbor- 7/17/44 4600 tons of explosives
USS Mount Hood - 11/10/44 - Seeadler Harbor, Papua New Guinea
Most devastating of all… SS Mont Blanc 12/6/17 - Halifax, Nova Scotia - over 1700 killed, thousands injured… the equivalent of 2.9 kilotons TNT. Excellent book about this:
The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism by John U. Bacon
Thank you for your comment and for pointing out other blast events; I will definitely look into them more closely. I agree that examining the history of explosions is important, and, as you said, it does not detract from the events of October 23, 1983, in Beirut. Upon closer examination of the references, the characterization that the barracks bomb was the “largest non-nuclear blast” ever recorded needs additional context. This statement is prominently linked to several sources, including news agencies, articles, and the 2003 U.S. District Court records of the case against Iran’s sponsorship of the terrorist attack (Peterson v. Islamic Republic of Iran). However, authoritative sources are more nuanced and specific in how the bomb’s size is characterized. I believe the DoD’s official investigation, the Long Commission, is the best source, and it states:
"The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Forensic Laboratory described the terrorist bomb as the largest conventional blast ever seen by the FBI's forensic explosive experts."
In another section, the report restates, "With regard to the BLT Headquarters bombing, FBI forensic experts have stated that it was the largest non-nuclear blast that they have ever examined; perhaps six to nine times the magnitude of the Embassy bombing."
The Long Commission does not compare the October 23 bomb’s destructiveness in the context of other historical events, whether deliberate acts of war or accidental explosions. Regardless, they are all tragic chapters in history.
We greatly appreciate your readership, comment and engagement – which are essential to the core aims of the MRR. Thank you for being part of the MRR community.
Thank you for the response. Beirut was horrific - the book is excellent. I note the explosions I cited all predate the existence of the FBI Forensics explosives experts… that Beirut was the largest they had seen or examined makes much better sense. Sorry if I seem a quibbler over superfluous details…
Oct 29·edited Oct 29Liked by Phil Gentile, David Gran
Just finished the book and appreciate its perspective after so many years have passed since this tragedy. None knew then that this would be the opening round of our struggles to come. Agree whole-heartedly with this excellent, engaging review. While there are other, older works on the Beirut bombing, this is the place to start one's literary investigation into this major historical event.
News to me was how heavily the bombing haunted President Reagan for the rest of his life. While many at the time and since were critical of his decisions despite having received much contrary advice, the book's description of his enduring grief in the aftermath is a stark reminder regarding the burdens of the office. While it can't possibly compare with the immense sorrows of the victims' families and friends who lost their loved ones, it is reminder of how heavily the consequences of his decisionmaking weighed on the President, before and after his term. Tragically, that dramatic suicide attack proved to be an expensive lesson in the limits of American power, military and otherwise, in a neighborhood of the world so fraught with dark complexities and foreboding.
This reader is somewhat astonished in retrospect that the bombing was just over eight years since we evacuated Saigon after the trauma of the Vietnam War and only a bit over three years since the Desert One fiasco in Iran. President Reagan swept into office bringing a new sense of optimism in America's power and resilience. His confidence resonated powerfully with many of us young officers in a military shaking off the remaining vestiges of malaise from the post-Vietnam era. If the successful invasion of Grenada that very same October did much to fulfill contemporary desires for a resurgent United States and muscular foreign policy, Carr and Scott's narrative is a well-reasoned reminder how easily those earnest desires can turn into wishful thinking. The book begins with the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut; despite that terrible precedent and what appears in retrospect to foreshadow the much larger attack against 24th Marine Amphibious Unit (24th MAU), the authors meticulously illustrate how well-meaning people succumbed to hubris so easily.
I can't imagine how your outlook on training changed that fateful October morning. I really enjoyed the way the book was written, telling the story from so many different angles. I have to say I left the story angry, at the foreign policy, at the Marine Corps, and at the terrorists as well. Colonel Geraghty, was not given the tools necessary to carry out his assigned task, at least in my humble opinion. This book also left me wondering where would we be today if we treated the beginnings of Hezbollah with a heavier hand. Like you I to am looking forward to the next installment of the new Targeted: series and hope it does the same in-depth analysis and discussion of whatever issue they take up next. I believe it is well worth the tie investment to read.
Jim, thanks for your comment and I’m glad you already read the book. For me, our training was focused and demanding throughout, but the bombing added a level of purpose to our training that can’t be emulated. But the deaths of 2ndLt Losey and SSgt Ortega on August 28 really hit home – especially the 2ndLt – started the reality check. Col Geraghty was in an impossible situation given the MAU’s mission (“presence”), assigned location (tactically unsound), and the U.S. intent on being a neutral force (unrealistic in the context of Lebanon and support of the govt). I’m glad the book put attention to the Reagan administration’s policy debate – that’s a call for all of us be engaged and the Weinberger doctrine codifing the need for alignment between national interests, policy and commitment is an enduring lesson. As for Hezbollah, in retrospect, I don’t believe we knew enough to project what they could become, or other fractional terrorist groups for that matter. Better to address the conditions that gave rise to them, principally Iran’s influence. Something we haven’t yet done for decades and it is playing out today, still. I’d recommend Col Geraghty’s book “Peacekeeper at War” and the Long Commission report. Thanks again for your comment and being part of the MRR.
Thank you for the comment and I will definitely look up the Colonel's book. I appreciate you and David's perspective as Marines. Being a few years behind you both I think this event was really the catalyst of my thoughts of serving myself albeit not as a Marine. As far as being part of the MRR community I am happy to be here and hope to watch it grow with the two of you at the helm.
I took me a while to decide whether to comment at all, and what I might say. I was there for about a month in Sep-Oct 83 with the 31st MAU. We were redirected from our WESTPAC deployment to provide a show of force and possible reinforcement. I went ashore a few times as part of the advanced party for contingency planning, and even spent a night in that building. We were recalled to our WESTPAC duties 12 days before the bombing amid threats of mining operations in the Persian Gulf. I originally had orders to 1/8 out of Infantry Training School (ITS), but a last minute change sent me to Third Marines instead. Several of my ITS classmates were killed or wounded in the bombing. As much as that shocking event affected me then, it wasn't until years later that the full impact hit me. Survivor's guilt is a real and terrible thing. I have vivid memories of reading the casualty reports and seeing the names of my friends, and I can still see their laughing faces from when we were in ITS. It still saddens me how little note this tragedy got back home. The largest single-day loss of US military life since WWII. It's good that these souls are not forgotten. Rest easy, my Brothers. Thank you for bringing this book to my attention. Semper Fi.
Thank you for deciding to post your comment. I am really glad that you did. Hearing your first-hand experiences makes all the difference as it reminds us that historical events are not just inanimate things or events, but are the collective experiences of real people in the most challenging environments. As I “unpack” my own experiences, I recognize that the passage of time brings about a different and enduring impact that we often do not fully recognize while in the moment. Thank you for highlighting the ongoing struggles of survivors and the importance of always remembering the fallen.
Thanks for your service, and I’m glad to reconnect with you. Semper Fi. v/r Phil
I was a few months behind Phil, having been commissioned as a Marine 2ndLt a few weeks earlier, by my father. The ceremony took place near the seawall of my childhood home in Northern Illinois, with "my" lake as the backdrop. It was a limbo time between college and the Corps while I waited for my TBS class to start. I remember seeing news of the bombing on TV and felt the gravity of the event but not the whole story. I had just a few more weeks before I departed for Quantico. It felt like an eternity.
I live outside Quantico now, some 40 years later and drove to a conference in Chicago last week. While there, I had a chance to stand on that seawall where I spent so much time as a youth. Beirut was on my mind. I had just listened to the first ten or so hours of "Target: Beirut" on Audible and the current news was packed with reports of Israel striking Hezbollah in Lebanon. I wish I could have read this book in November of 1983. It's a well researched and well written history of the months leading up the attack and the days and weeks after. I highly recommend it. It drives home the importance of reading for context and the necessity for young military professionals to continually search for that context as they form their leadership styles and approach to tactical challenges. Three short years later, I embarked on amphibious shipping in the Mediterranean with 24th MEU as the BLT 2/4 Intelligence Officer.
“In the largest non-nuclear explosion at the time ever recorded, …”
Not to minimize the Beirut attack, but maybe check out:
Port Harbor- 7/17/44 4600 tons of explosives
USS Mount Hood - 11/10/44 - Seeadler Harbor, Papua New Guinea
Most devastating of all… SS Mont Blanc 12/6/17 - Halifax, Nova Scotia - over 1700 killed, thousands injured… the equivalent of 2.9 kilotons TNT. Excellent book about this:
The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism by John U. Bacon
Urey,
Thank you for your comment and for pointing out other blast events; I will definitely look into them more closely. I agree that examining the history of explosions is important, and, as you said, it does not detract from the events of October 23, 1983, in Beirut. Upon closer examination of the references, the characterization that the barracks bomb was the “largest non-nuclear blast” ever recorded needs additional context. This statement is prominently linked to several sources, including news agencies, articles, and the 2003 U.S. District Court records of the case against Iran’s sponsorship of the terrorist attack (Peterson v. Islamic Republic of Iran). However, authoritative sources are more nuanced and specific in how the bomb’s size is characterized. I believe the DoD’s official investigation, the Long Commission, is the best source, and it states:
"The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Forensic Laboratory described the terrorist bomb as the largest conventional blast ever seen by the FBI's forensic explosive experts."
In another section, the report restates, "With regard to the BLT Headquarters bombing, FBI forensic experts have stated that it was the largest non-nuclear blast that they have ever examined; perhaps six to nine times the magnitude of the Embassy bombing."
The Long Commission does not compare the October 23 bomb’s destructiveness in the context of other historical events, whether deliberate acts of war or accidental explosions. Regardless, they are all tragic chapters in history.
We greatly appreciate your readership, comment and engagement – which are essential to the core aims of the MRR. Thank you for being part of the MRR community.
Thank you for the response. Beirut was horrific - the book is excellent. I note the explosions I cited all predate the existence of the FBI Forensics explosives experts… that Beirut was the largest they had seen or examined makes much better sense. Sorry if I seem a quibbler over superfluous details…
Concur Urey. Such a truly tragic event and as was our overall Beirut experience - as the book brings out.
Just finished the book and appreciate its perspective after so many years have passed since this tragedy. None knew then that this would be the opening round of our struggles to come. Agree whole-heartedly with this excellent, engaging review. While there are other, older works on the Beirut bombing, this is the place to start one's literary investigation into this major historical event.
News to me was how heavily the bombing haunted President Reagan for the rest of his life. While many at the time and since were critical of his decisions despite having received much contrary advice, the book's description of his enduring grief in the aftermath is a stark reminder regarding the burdens of the office. While it can't possibly compare with the immense sorrows of the victims' families and friends who lost their loved ones, it is reminder of how heavily the consequences of his decisionmaking weighed on the President, before and after his term. Tragically, that dramatic suicide attack proved to be an expensive lesson in the limits of American power, military and otherwise, in a neighborhood of the world so fraught with dark complexities and foreboding.
This reader is somewhat astonished in retrospect that the bombing was just over eight years since we evacuated Saigon after the trauma of the Vietnam War and only a bit over three years since the Desert One fiasco in Iran. President Reagan swept into office bringing a new sense of optimism in America's power and resilience. His confidence resonated powerfully with many of us young officers in a military shaking off the remaining vestiges of malaise from the post-Vietnam era. If the successful invasion of Grenada that very same October did much to fulfill contemporary desires for a resurgent United States and muscular foreign policy, Carr and Scott's narrative is a well-reasoned reminder how easily those earnest desires can turn into wishful thinking. The book begins with the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut; despite that terrible precedent and what appears in retrospect to foreshadow the much larger attack against 24th Marine Amphibious Unit (24th MAU), the authors meticulously illustrate how well-meaning people succumbed to hubris so easily.
Thank you Eric very much for your truly excellent comments!
Great comments, Eric.
There are definitely lessons to be learned and relearned by studying the Beirut bombing.
Phil,
I can't imagine how your outlook on training changed that fateful October morning. I really enjoyed the way the book was written, telling the story from so many different angles. I have to say I left the story angry, at the foreign policy, at the Marine Corps, and at the terrorists as well. Colonel Geraghty, was not given the tools necessary to carry out his assigned task, at least in my humble opinion. This book also left me wondering where would we be today if we treated the beginnings of Hezbollah with a heavier hand. Like you I to am looking forward to the next installment of the new Targeted: series and hope it does the same in-depth analysis and discussion of whatever issue they take up next. I believe it is well worth the tie investment to read.
Jim, thanks for your comment and I’m glad you already read the book. For me, our training was focused and demanding throughout, but the bombing added a level of purpose to our training that can’t be emulated. But the deaths of 2ndLt Losey and SSgt Ortega on August 28 really hit home – especially the 2ndLt – started the reality check. Col Geraghty was in an impossible situation given the MAU’s mission (“presence”), assigned location (tactically unsound), and the U.S. intent on being a neutral force (unrealistic in the context of Lebanon and support of the govt). I’m glad the book put attention to the Reagan administration’s policy debate – that’s a call for all of us be engaged and the Weinberger doctrine codifing the need for alignment between national interests, policy and commitment is an enduring lesson. As for Hezbollah, in retrospect, I don’t believe we knew enough to project what they could become, or other fractional terrorist groups for that matter. Better to address the conditions that gave rise to them, principally Iran’s influence. Something we haven’t yet done for decades and it is playing out today, still. I’d recommend Col Geraghty’s book “Peacekeeper at War” and the Long Commission report. Thanks again for your comment and being part of the MRR.
Phil,
Thank you for the comment and I will definitely look up the Colonel's book. I appreciate you and David's perspective as Marines. Being a few years behind you both I think this event was really the catalyst of my thoughts of serving myself albeit not as a Marine. As far as being part of the MRR community I am happy to be here and hope to watch it grow with the two of you at the helm.
I took me a while to decide whether to comment at all, and what I might say. I was there for about a month in Sep-Oct 83 with the 31st MAU. We were redirected from our WESTPAC deployment to provide a show of force and possible reinforcement. I went ashore a few times as part of the advanced party for contingency planning, and even spent a night in that building. We were recalled to our WESTPAC duties 12 days before the bombing amid threats of mining operations in the Persian Gulf. I originally had orders to 1/8 out of Infantry Training School (ITS), but a last minute change sent me to Third Marines instead. Several of my ITS classmates were killed or wounded in the bombing. As much as that shocking event affected me then, it wasn't until years later that the full impact hit me. Survivor's guilt is a real and terrible thing. I have vivid memories of reading the casualty reports and seeing the names of my friends, and I can still see their laughing faces from when we were in ITS. It still saddens me how little note this tragedy got back home. The largest single-day loss of US military life since WWII. It's good that these souls are not forgotten. Rest easy, my Brothers. Thank you for bringing this book to my attention. Semper Fi.
Jim,
Thank you for deciding to post your comment. I am really glad that you did. Hearing your first-hand experiences makes all the difference as it reminds us that historical events are not just inanimate things or events, but are the collective experiences of real people in the most challenging environments. As I “unpack” my own experiences, I recognize that the passage of time brings about a different and enduring impact that we often do not fully recognize while in the moment. Thank you for highlighting the ongoing struggles of survivors and the importance of always remembering the fallen.
Thanks for your service, and I’m glad to reconnect with you. Semper Fi. v/r Phil