Phantom Blooper
10-21-08, 08:21 PM
A stamp to remember
Group wants approval for Beirut stamp
October 21, 2008 - 6:26PM
JENNIFER HLAD (jhlad@freedomenc.com)
<!-- Video goes here -->All they want is a stamp.
For more than 15 years, survivors and families who lost loved ones in the bombing of the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, have been working to get the U.S. Postal Service to create a stamp to honor the victims and the veterans of the peacekeeping mission in Beirut.
In 1993, a group of Gold Star Mothers collected more than 20,000 signatures and brought the petition to the postmaster general, only to be turned down. But the group refused to give up.
"This was the first act of terrorism against the United States, even though it was on foreign soil," said Charles Hall, a Beirut veteran and historian for the Beirut Stamp Initiative. "I think that those 273 men that are up on that wall should be honored," like the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were honored with a stamp.
Hall was a sergeant with Charlie Company, 1/8 the morning of Oct. 23, 1983. He was on the outskirts of the airport that morning, making coffee when the ground vibrated and the stacks of gear in the bunker fell to the ground.
"We watched the building go down," Hall remembers. "You could see the dust clouds, feel the ground vibrate. ... I gave a report, I think it was to ABC News, and the only word I could think of (then) and can still think of (now) is devastating."
Mike Bangert served near the American and British embassies in Beirut. At the ceremony commemorating the 20th anniversary of the bombing, Bangert heard about the stamp effort and was compelled to help.
In December, Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives urging the U.S. Postal Service to issue a stamp in remembrance of the victims and in honor of the veterans of the peacekeeping mission in Beirut.
Bangert decided he wanted to help that resolution gain steam.
The hobby bike rider decided he could spread the word about the stamp by riding his bicycle from Petersburg, Pa., to Jacksonville, urging people along the way to contact their congressional representative about the stamp resolution.
When Bangert's friends told him he was crazy, he knew it was a good idea.
"I thought I would create a stir and a buzz," Bangert said Monday afternoon, the day he pedaled into Jacksonville. "I'm a (reconnaissance) Marine. I like to attack the hill."
As he cycled, Bangert wore a shirt that bore the image of the Beirut stamp on his stomach, with the names of the 273 Marines, sailors and soldiers killed in Beirut on his back. He averaged about 60 miles a day.
"When I'm out there on those lonely roads, and my legs are burning," Bangert said, he would think about all those men who lost their lives.
Those men and their families are who the stamp is for, Bangert said.
While the citizens of Jacksonville have the Beirut Memorial to remind them of that peacekeeping mission, a stamp would serve as a reminder to the many across the country who have never heard of Beirut, Bangert said.
Hall said it is also a way to honor the survivors and families, who live with the memories every day.
"I've met a lot of mothers, fathers, wives, families," he said. "It's with them 24/7."
Contact interactive content editor and military reporter Jennifer Hlad at 910-219-8467 or jhlad@freedomenc.com
Group wants approval for Beirut stamp
October 21, 2008 - 6:26PM
JENNIFER HLAD (jhlad@freedomenc.com)
<!-- Video goes here -->All they want is a stamp.
For more than 15 years, survivors and families who lost loved ones in the bombing of the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, have been working to get the U.S. Postal Service to create a stamp to honor the victims and the veterans of the peacekeeping mission in Beirut.
In 1993, a group of Gold Star Mothers collected more than 20,000 signatures and brought the petition to the postmaster general, only to be turned down. But the group refused to give up.
"This was the first act of terrorism against the United States, even though it was on foreign soil," said Charles Hall, a Beirut veteran and historian for the Beirut Stamp Initiative. "I think that those 273 men that are up on that wall should be honored," like the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were honored with a stamp.
Hall was a sergeant with Charlie Company, 1/8 the morning of Oct. 23, 1983. He was on the outskirts of the airport that morning, making coffee when the ground vibrated and the stacks of gear in the bunker fell to the ground.
"We watched the building go down," Hall remembers. "You could see the dust clouds, feel the ground vibrate. ... I gave a report, I think it was to ABC News, and the only word I could think of (then) and can still think of (now) is devastating."
Mike Bangert served near the American and British embassies in Beirut. At the ceremony commemorating the 20th anniversary of the bombing, Bangert heard about the stamp effort and was compelled to help.
In December, Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives urging the U.S. Postal Service to issue a stamp in remembrance of the victims and in honor of the veterans of the peacekeeping mission in Beirut.
Bangert decided he wanted to help that resolution gain steam.
The hobby bike rider decided he could spread the word about the stamp by riding his bicycle from Petersburg, Pa., to Jacksonville, urging people along the way to contact their congressional representative about the stamp resolution.
When Bangert's friends told him he was crazy, he knew it was a good idea.
"I thought I would create a stir and a buzz," Bangert said Monday afternoon, the day he pedaled into Jacksonville. "I'm a (reconnaissance) Marine. I like to attack the hill."
As he cycled, Bangert wore a shirt that bore the image of the Beirut stamp on his stomach, with the names of the 273 Marines, sailors and soldiers killed in Beirut on his back. He averaged about 60 miles a day.
"When I'm out there on those lonely roads, and my legs are burning," Bangert said, he would think about all those men who lost their lives.
Those men and their families are who the stamp is for, Bangert said.
While the citizens of Jacksonville have the Beirut Memorial to remind them of that peacekeeping mission, a stamp would serve as a reminder to the many across the country who have never heard of Beirut, Bangert said.
Hall said it is also a way to honor the survivors and families, who live with the memories every day.
"I've met a lot of mothers, fathers, wives, families," he said. "It's with them 24/7."
Contact interactive content editor and military reporter Jennifer Hlad at 910-219-8467 or jhlad@freedomenc.com