The American Embassy in Beirut issued a statement announcing that it "commemorated today the 40th anniversary of the bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut on October 23, 1983, in which a suicide bomber killed 241 American soldiers. U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shia, Deputy Chief of Mission Amanda Bales, and the embassy community honored those who lost their lives in this attack."
The statement continued: "Ambassador Shia and French Ambassador Hervé Magro laid a wreath at the memorial at the U.S. Embassy adorned with the phrase 'They came in peace.' Members of the Marine Corps detachment at the U.S. Embassy read the names of all the victims, remembered their service, and honored their sacrifices."
Ambassador Shia emphasized in her speech that the United States' commitment to the people of Lebanon "is much stronger than any cowardly act of violence or terrorism." She added: "The motto of the U.S. Marine Corps is 'Semper Fidelis.' Today, 40 years after the bombing of the Marine Corps barracks, we are forever loyal to the memory of those 241 American soldiers and all those, Americans, Lebanese, and others, who sacrificed their lives in support of peace."
