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Camp Lejeune Marines Remember Beirut Bombing 30 Years Later

The memorial commemorating the victims of the 1983 bombing in Beirut
Michael D. Dunn
/
Flickr Creative Commons

Marines at Camp Lejeune are remembering the 1983 bombing of their base in Beirut, Lebanon.

It was 30 years ago Wednesday that a truck loaded with explosives crashed into the barracks and killed 241 service members. Dan Joy was a corporal there. He says he and other surviving veterans have been gathering this week.

"When we started talking, little tidbits of things that we did sort of all came back, you know, and they were just young kids," Joy said.

"(I) remember in the barracks and there was a certain song by Credence Clearwater revival was on, and all of the sudden so and so did this and that and everybody laughed because they remember it was a funny story, you know, just like any military unit. And in remembering them, we honor them."

An observance ceremony is set for Wednesday morning in Jacksonville. The commander of the Marine Corps is scheduled to deliver the memorial address.

Jorge Valencia has been with North Carolina Public Radio since 2012. A native of Bogotá, Colombia, Jorge studied journalism at the University of Maryland and reported for four years for the Roanoke Times in Virginia before joining the station. His reporting has also been published in the Wall Street Journal, the Miami Herald, and the Baltimore Sun.
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