thedrifter
10-14-03, 09:29 AM
Advisory board honors the 'first duty'
October 14,2003
CYNDI BROWN
DAILY NEWS STAFF
When Beirut Veterans of America chose the phrase "The first duty is to remember" as its motto in 1992, there was one group that had already been living by it for years.
The Beirut Memorial Advisory Board oversees the memorial and the annual service held there to remember the 241 service members killed when their Beirut barracks was bombed Oct. 23, 1983.
The board took over from the Beirut Memorial Task Force, which oversaw fund raising for and the construction of the granite memorial.
Abe Rosen, a member of the original task force and the advisory board, remembered being one of 20 tasked by the mayor in January of 1986 to raise $250,000 by April in order to have the memorial completed by the third anniversary of the bombing.
"And we did it," said Rosen, praising the support they received to create the first memorial constructed by a civilian community but dedicated to the military.
More than 2,000 people showed up for the Oct. 23, 1986, dedication of the 10-by-60 foot structure with a jagged split that symbolizes the blast. Columns bearing the name of those killed in the bombing, two others who died later as a result, 27 killed during Beirut patrol and three killed during the invasion of Grenada line the left of the memorial. The words "They Came In Peace" are engraved on the right. A bronze statue of a composite service member, added in 1988, stands in the middle.
After nearly 20 years, Rosen and four of his fellow members are still on the board: Chairwoman Doris Downs, Mike Ellzey, Woody Myers and Bob Cornell. Wayne Morris is the sixth member.
"It became a labor of love," said Rosen of why they have remained committed to the memorial for two decades. "Plus the friendships we've forged as committee members with the families, the veterans.
"It just became part of our lives."
The committee meets every other week beginning in August to line up the speakers and special guests for that year's service. They also meet with representatives from various Camp Lejeune commands, veterans organizations and the USO to coordinate efforts. During the week of the ceremony, they hold two rehearsals and then host the public memorial service on behalf of the city and Camp Lejeune. They also host a private candlelight service that includes a reading of all 273 names on the wall for the families of the service members killed.
The public memorial service, held annually on the day of the terrorist attack, will begin at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 23 at the Beirut Memorial, located at the entrance of Camp Johnson. Retired Gen. Alfred M. Gray Jr., the 29th commandant of the Marine Corps, will be the guest of honor.
Also scheduled to attend are Brig. Gen. Robert Dickerson, commanding general of Camp Lejeune; Jacksonville Mayor Elsie Smith; Abbe Godwin, who sculpted the bronze sentry who stands silent watch over the memorial; and retired Gen. P.X. Kelley, commandant of the Marine Corps at the time of the bombing and the man who dedicated the memorial in 1986.
In addition to the morning service at the Beirut Memorial, the Onslow County Detachment of the Marine Corps League will conduct a ceremony at 2 p.m. Oct. 23 at the Camp Geiger Circle, site of the first memorial to the servicemen killed in Beirut
http://www.thelibertynews.com/details.cfm?StoryID=16897
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
October 14,2003
CYNDI BROWN
DAILY NEWS STAFF
When Beirut Veterans of America chose the phrase "The first duty is to remember" as its motto in 1992, there was one group that had already been living by it for years.
The Beirut Memorial Advisory Board oversees the memorial and the annual service held there to remember the 241 service members killed when their Beirut barracks was bombed Oct. 23, 1983.
The board took over from the Beirut Memorial Task Force, which oversaw fund raising for and the construction of the granite memorial.
Abe Rosen, a member of the original task force and the advisory board, remembered being one of 20 tasked by the mayor in January of 1986 to raise $250,000 by April in order to have the memorial completed by the third anniversary of the bombing.
"And we did it," said Rosen, praising the support they received to create the first memorial constructed by a civilian community but dedicated to the military.
More than 2,000 people showed up for the Oct. 23, 1986, dedication of the 10-by-60 foot structure with a jagged split that symbolizes the blast. Columns bearing the name of those killed in the bombing, two others who died later as a result, 27 killed during Beirut patrol and three killed during the invasion of Grenada line the left of the memorial. The words "They Came In Peace" are engraved on the right. A bronze statue of a composite service member, added in 1988, stands in the middle.
After nearly 20 years, Rosen and four of his fellow members are still on the board: Chairwoman Doris Downs, Mike Ellzey, Woody Myers and Bob Cornell. Wayne Morris is the sixth member.
"It became a labor of love," said Rosen of why they have remained committed to the memorial for two decades. "Plus the friendships we've forged as committee members with the families, the veterans.
"It just became part of our lives."
The committee meets every other week beginning in August to line up the speakers and special guests for that year's service. They also meet with representatives from various Camp Lejeune commands, veterans organizations and the USO to coordinate efforts. During the week of the ceremony, they hold two rehearsals and then host the public memorial service on behalf of the city and Camp Lejeune. They also host a private candlelight service that includes a reading of all 273 names on the wall for the families of the service members killed.
The public memorial service, held annually on the day of the terrorist attack, will begin at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 23 at the Beirut Memorial, located at the entrance of Camp Johnson. Retired Gen. Alfred M. Gray Jr., the 29th commandant of the Marine Corps, will be the guest of honor.
Also scheduled to attend are Brig. Gen. Robert Dickerson, commanding general of Camp Lejeune; Jacksonville Mayor Elsie Smith; Abbe Godwin, who sculpted the bronze sentry who stands silent watch over the memorial; and retired Gen. P.X. Kelley, commandant of the Marine Corps at the time of the bombing and the man who dedicated the memorial in 1986.
In addition to the morning service at the Beirut Memorial, the Onslow County Detachment of the Marine Corps League will conduct a ceremony at 2 p.m. Oct. 23 at the Camp Geiger Circle, site of the first memorial to the servicemen killed in Beirut
http://www.thelibertynews.com/details.cfm?StoryID=16897
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: