BEIRUT—On Wednesday Congressman Stephen F. Lynch (D-Boston) laid a wreath at the Beirut Memorial at the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon to honor the 241 American servicemembers, including 220 U.S. Marines, 18 sailors, and 3 Army soldiers, who were killed in the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings. The memorial honors American servicemembers and diplomats who have lost their lives while serving in Lebanon. 

“In the midst of violence and civil war, brave American servicemembers and diplomats came to Lebanon to promote peace. We still mourn our brothers and sisters and sons and daughters who did not return home,” said Lynch. “It was an honor to stand alongside the men and women who are currently serving in Lebanon, including the U.S. Marine detachment from the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, to remember those who were taken from us as they sought peace here and throughout the Middle East.”

The Beirut barracks bombings in 1983 were the deadliest single-day attack on U.S. Marines since the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. Earlier that year, 63 people were killed in an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, and in 1984, 24 people were killed in an attack on the U.S. Embassy annex in Aukar. The Beirut Memorial honors hundreds of American military, intelligence, and diplomatic personnel killed in these and other incidents in Lebanon.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Elizabeth Richard, Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), and the U.S. Marine Corps contingent stationed at the U.S. Embassy also participated in the wreath-laying ceremony at the Beirut Memorial. Lynch’s visit to the memorial came during a week-long congressional delegation to the Middle East that included trips to Bahrain, Jordan, Egypt, and the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.